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TRANSACTIONS 



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THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 




PLYMOUTH, 
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY ROWE, 



ARD SOLD BT 



BALDWIN AND CRADOCK, LONDON. 
1890. 



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ADVERTISEMENT. 



THE Plymouth JtutUution toot founded in 1812, for the 
promotion of Uteraturet Science, and the JPme Art», tn the 
town and neighbourhood. 



9. 



9 



Among other means adopted infurtherance of the objects of 
the Institutumf it has been deemed exponent in the I9th year 
of its existence J to publish a volume of essays^ selected from 
the lectures read during the annual sittings of the Society. 

But since the publication of their lectures is not obligatory 
upon the members^ by the Society* s laws^ the present series con^ 
sists exclusively of such as have been voluntarily tendered by the 
authors ; although it has been found impracticable to include 
aU the papers offered for that purpose^ without enlarging the 
volume to an undesirable extent. 



It has been also the object of the Society to confine the present 
volume €u much as possible to those subjects^for the discussion 
qfwhichf local facilities or other circumstances^ give to the 



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ir. ADVERTISElieifT. 

members^ advaniages not witkm the reach of their fellow 
labourers tn the field of knowledge. In this point of viewj 
at leasts the Society hopes that a volume of Us Transactions 
may not be an unacceptable contribution to the general stock of 
literary and scienHfic information. 

It may be necessary to add, that the Society does not hold 
itself amenable for the opinions or statements advanced in the 
several essays. That responsibility rests with the respective 
authors. 



Atheiumm^ Pljfmonth, 
Auffurtj 1830. 



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CONTENTS. 



Page 
A DISCOURSE, delivered at the opening of the Pfymouth 

Aihemsum, Februan^ ^h^ 1819, by Robert Lampbn, 

M. A. Member of the Society. . • • • ......•• 1 

I.-— Geolqgfjoo/ Survey of some parts of the comUry near 
Pfynumtkf particularly between the Plym and Tamar ; by 
John Peidiaux, Member of the Plymouth Institution. 10 

ll./'^EjeperimeHiai Inquiries concerning the laws of electrical ft^n-^- J -^ /^ '' 

aecumsUatim ! by Mr. W. S. Harris, Member of the . ' u,^ ^\ , 

PlymoQth Institution 45 'T''" 

. IIL— Parftctc&ir« ^ ^ conxtruf^km. ^ a cast^^ron bridge 
overAe Lory, near Pfymouik; % James M. Rbndbl, 
Ciril Engines, Monber of the lUyal Institution of Civil 
FngMfirs, and of the Plymouth Institution • . . • 90 

IT*— »(^ the rise and decline of particular mortal diseases, 
during the last tweMy-Jive years ;^with <m attempt to 
aseertain the law qf mortality, m respect of its distribu* 
tion on varums ages, and in both sexes; by Edward 
Blackmoeb, M. D. Member of the Royal Medioii( 
Society of Edinbur^ and of the Plymouth InstitutieiL • • 117 

y««- Qa the Characters qf Ahbotia^ a new genus belonging lo 
theJbmUy IBsteridee, with descriptims of two species ; by 
William Elpord Lbacq^ M. D. F. R, S. &c. 
Himorary Member of the Plymouth Institution 155 

Descrqition of some new species of the class Myriapoda; 
by William Elford Leach, M. D. F. R. S. &c. 
Honorary Member of the Plymouth Institution.. 158 



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CONTENTS, 

Paoe 
On two new genera of crustaceaus animals^ discovered 

by Mr. John Cranch, m the expedition to Congo 109 

On Three new genera of the M<daca$traeeoui Crustacea^ 
belm^ing to thefamly SquiUad^e ; by William Elford 
Leach, M. D. F. R. S. &c. Honorary Meinber of the 
Plymoiith Instf tution 172 

On the gem^ M^clophtheimiu^ a new and very inieresti^ 
genus, conq>letely proving the theory <if Jules-Cjisar 
Satigny, to be correct: by William Elford Leach, 
M. D. F. R. S. &c. Honorary Member of the Plymouth 
Institution.. • ••• 176 

Vh^-Antiquarian investigaiions m the firest qf Dartmoor, 
y Devon; by Samuel Rowe, B. A. Member of the 

Plymouth Institution • • •' 180 

Ylh^^ Persian Poetry ; by Mr. Nathaniel Howard, 

Honorary Member of the Plymouth In8tituti<m 213 

YIIL — An account qf the collection of drawings of CoL. 
y^ Hamilton Smith, F. R. S. F. L. S. &c. &c. kc and 
Member of the Pljrmouth Institution, m a letter to the 
president • ,. ••••••• 255 

IX. — On the Ornithology qfthe SoiUh of Devon ; by Edward 
/ 'Moore, M. D. F. L. S. and Member of the Pl3rmouth 

Institution, in a letter to the president. ••• • • 289 

Appendix.. ••#•••••. 353 



^...^^ 



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ERRATA. 

Fige 47,-^Note, 6ih Une from bottom, /or framed plate, read frame and plate. 
■ 64,«-line hfor neoessaiy conseqaenee of, read perfectly consistent with. 

— ^77,— lliie4frombottom,ybr— ^ rtad -— - 

60,— >Exper. 25, line «, — bd. — — b(U 

— - 8S,— 4ine 19 from top, — DE. — — De^ 

— 06,^-for AUraeUvefvree^ read every where AUraeiiveforee qf the fret 
aeUom, 

805, line 6, for Gen.^EAGLES, inteH Snbg.— Eagles. 

994, — 9S, — Sabg.—(BpoonbUl8.)*—-Oen.— SPOONBILLS. 

940, —90, — October, 1899, Norember, 1809. 

No<«— Mr. Prideanz's paper haying been printed two years, and written 
more than three, oontalni many geological terms which have gndnally become 
obt<ri6te ; bat as they are still anderstood, it has not been thought na^ssary 
to partienlarise them. 



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TRANSACTIONS. 



A DISCOURSE, DBLITERED AT THE OPENING OF THE 
PLYMOUTH ATHENJBUM, FEBRUARY 4th, 1819, BY 
ROBERT LAMPEN, M. A. MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY. 



Onines Id unlTenmin monitos Tolmnos, at scientle reros flues 
cogitent ; neo earn aot ftnimi causa petant, aut ad contenUonem, aut ut alios 
despldant, aut ad eotnmodam* aut ad famam, aut ad potenttam, aut bvQUsniodi 
loferlora, sed ad merltam et usus Titoe, eamque In Cbarltate perfldant et 
regant. bacon. 



THE occasioii on which we now meet, is most interesting 
to all who have watched the progpress of the Plymouth Insti- 
tution with a friendly solicitude. . It is impossible to take 
possession of this Athenaeum, the result of your perseverance, 
and the public memorial of your zeal, without feeling satisfied, 
that the classical elegance of this edifice will not be suffered to 
ronain an evidence of hopes, rather than of attainments ; but 
diat every exertion will be used to secure all that it seems to 
promise. For, without any extravagant estimate of the past, 

.you may cherish the remembrance of your efforts hitherto, 
however unpretending, as contributions towards the local 

-facilities of improv^nent; imd you cannot but look with con« 
fidence to the sponger claims to support, which a continuance 
of such exertions must enable your Society to prefer. It may 
be your praise to have given stability to an Institution uniting 



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2 REV. R. LAMPEN ON THE 

social with intellectual enjoyment, and affording motives to 
exertion, and means of acquiring knowledge, which seldom 
stimulate and assist the labours of the solitary student.-— 
Neither could I be accused of unjustifiable partiality, if I 
were to assert, that local attachment may be allowed to in- 
fluence our anticipations. It cannot be unworthy our zeal to 
promote the intellectual character of a town, distinguished by 
its national importance, and by the residence of men, estimable 
in literary accomplishments, and the pursuits of science and 
the air^. It is however so easy to transgress the limits which 
separate the iceasonable from the visionary, that we cannot be 
too cautious in our speculations on the future, if we take care 
not to damp the ardour which is essential to the continuance 
of energy. Will it be said that I go beyond the bounds of 
allowable expectation, when I confess, that surrounded as I 
flow am, by many respectable individuals, united by the 
coHunon desire of ii^provipg the best possession of their natur^f 
I forest much invaluable eiijo3nnent gladdening the privacy 
of domestic life; much elevation of character bestowed on 
social intercourse ; many innocent resources afforded to diverw 
sify the occasional sameness, to relieve the frequent anxieties, 
and to ennoble the daily pleasures of existence? Thei^ ase 
indeed some, who look with less complacency on the progress 
and effects of mental acquirements; but I have now die sfr- 
'tisfaction of addressing those who partake in one feeling of 
congratulation and encouragement. The very circumstance 
of our assembling here, proves that we all calculate on dhe 
further progress of those powers wiiich have hitherto been 
progressive ; and that we set a proper value on the increase of 
our intellectual wealth. Without being mided by a»y visi- 
onary hopes, the experienced possibility of improvement must 
- always afford delight to the benevolent friends of mankind.^*- 
In thus looking forward to the advancement of society in ail 
rational habits and happiness, we insensibly make Ae fiituro 
.an object of the most liyely interest, for we identify its pro^ 
mises with the most affectionate wishes of our hearts. In our 



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OPENING OF THE ATHENwSUM. 3 

l^resent attempt to cherish and diffuse the love of knowledge 
and to iocuicate the inestimable worth of its pleasures, it is 
impossible to forget that our children may reap where we hare 
town; that what with: us is hope, may with them be reality. 

But to secure the benefits that may so reasonably be antici- 
pgtedy it is necessary that we should keep steadily in view, the 
gjreat end of all knowledge; and endeavour so to employ the 
means of its attainment, that we may not deceive ounselves in 
the pursuit. There is something so sublime in Mind, that it is 
most difficult to lead it, from the contemplation of its own pow- 
ers^ to that great end for which those powers were designed^ 
Its effects, like those of all invisible and mysterious agents, 
more frequently excite an indolent feeling of admiration, than 
encourage profitable inquiry into their moral results. How 
surpassingly wonderful indeed is that Bacred gift of heaven;-^ 
that inborn excellence of our nature ; — continually active 
in-explorii^ new regions of diought ; — dilating as it were 
tbe^iimited period of human life, by ever presenting to us the 
visions of the past or the future ; the inexhaustible treasures 
of recollectioui or of hope. The indications of Mind survive 
o:|ur accidental possessions, and perpetuate the wisdom of ages» 
They breathe from the ruins of Thebes and Palmyra ; and after . 
the desert has for centuries resumed its silence and its solitude, 
we can still discover that it was once enlivened by the dcmii- 
nion of intellect. The lapse of time indeed only augments the 
sQurces of mental enjoyment, while it shows ns how fragile 
ai^ all our other possessions. Man is not allowed to involve 
in the discomfiture of his expectations, that high privilege and 
Principle of his nature, which like the sun, shines above the 
reach of storms, and though often partially obscured, is always 
thft source of light and life. What is it that attaches us to the 
reoordaof history, but the evidences of Mind^ which they - 
perpetuate f We look back to the people of ancient fame, and 
admire the greatness of their actions^ because those "actiona 
were^Tid^ftt symbols of superior intellects It is what theyr 



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4 REV. R. LAMPEN ON THB 

thought, that gave life and interest to what they did. In the 
highest career of their glory, it is not their power or their success 
which fixes our attention, but that which made Aeir power 
awful, and their success the result of wisdom, and not of 
accident. It is the energy of Mind to which we thus pay in- 
voluntary homage ; — and our admiration of Athens and of 
Rome, is only the expression of that general sentiment of 
exultation — ^the instinctive confessicm ^that lofty powers lie 
treasured up in Man." 

But these sublime indications of Mind, may from their very 
grandeur excite an unprofitable veneration. As those, who 
al« not initiated in the secrets of nature, behold the mighty 
powers of the material world when loosened from their usual 
restraints ; — astonished at their effects, and yet unconsciouis, 
that the very air they breathe, is supported by their unseen 
agency ; so intellectual power may be regarded, as if it were 
solely the property of superior beings, and without the present 
conviction that it is the pervading ei^rgy of social life. That 
conviction is however essentially necessary to secure the useftil 
cultivation of our faculties; and I know not that I could choose 
a more useful subject for the occasion of opening our Athen. 
ceum, than that which is thus suggested to our meditation : — 
We are now under the most auspicious circumstances, renewing 
our endeavours to extend the love, and facilitate the acquisition 
of knowledge. We hope to see those endeavours productive 
of beneficial effects on individual character, and on the inter- 
course of life. It must therefore be most interesting at the 
present moment to enquire, how the pursuits of Literature, 
Science, and the Arts, may be connected with moral improve* 
ment ; and what means are within our reach to secure a more 
extensive co-operation of the Intellect and the Will. It is 
their probable influence on the conduct that can alone enable - 
us to estimate the real value of our endeavours. It is by se- . 
curing their beneficial influence, that we can alone recommend 
tbem to the Author of our being, who gave us reason, not for 



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OPENING OF THB ATHENJBUM. 6 

idl6 Speculation or personal distinction, but for the completion 
of a more glorious destiny, as the enlightened adorers of his 
gfreatness, and the humble imitators of his moral perfections. 

There is nothing that more effectually secures the proper 
direction of our faculties, than a careful consideration of their 
mutual dependance. Man is endowed with contemplative and 
active powers, and they must administer to each other, or the 
harmony of nature is impaired. The energies of the mind 
must be defined and directed by the scene which calk them 
forth. Unless speculation and practice are connected as cause 
and effect, speculation must lose its worth, and practice its 
possibilities of improvement. The great object of a well regu- 
lated education is, at once, to develope these powers and to 
preserve their natural association. But few indeed are so ad- 
mirably disciplined, as to escape, altogether, the tyranny of 
some disproportionate bias. — Either an undue preference for 
abstruse researches or ideal enjoyments, gives a distaste for the 
humbler but essential duties of life; or an exclusive zeal to 
answer the demands of our social existence, fosters a suspicion 
that theoretical pursuits are deficient in utility. The few, who 
cultivate their contemplative faculties, too often become unable 
to bring them sufficiently within the sphere of social obliga- 
tions; and the many, who are necessarily led to the details of 
active life, not unfrequently regard employments of an ab- 
stracted character, as something foreign to the real advantage 
of mankind. Even if the judgment be not perverted entirely 
by these hasty decisions of habit or inclination, it is too fre- 
quently so far influenced, as to check the fearless cultivation 
of every part of our intelligent nature, and to induce us to 
impose the shackles of our prejudices on those minds that are 
entrusted to our direction. Nor can iV be at all matter of 
surprise that the importance of intellectual pursuits should be 
under-rated, when it is decided by the fellacious test of com- 
parative utility. For the speculative labours of the student 
do not so challenge observation, as to permit their being fiurly ' 



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" u^^^mmmmmmmmmmmam^tmmm 



6r REV. R. UIMPJE^ ON THE 

e^tiniialed; while pFactical exertions come so home to every 
ngvui's business and bosom, that they may seem, to superficial ^ 
notice, to be the only dnties of life. The results of scientific:., 
experiment or calculation, which facilitate the ordinary busi- 
ness of mankind^ bring indeed theory and practice so closely 
together, .that the advantage of speculation, is in, these in* 
stances unequivocally acknowledged : but even then it is 
allowed,, only, when made evident by such profitable results* ■ 
T|ie philosopjier in his laboratory, and the mathematician in • 
his study are not known as the friepds of society^ until society 
has felt their value by some new addition to the sources of 
wealth or comfort* Thus the advantages of speculation are 
only confessed on a retrospect, when its manifest effects have . 
placed it in too strong a light to allow the possibility of neglect* 
The student is alone encouraged by his solitary anticipa» 
tions; — ^he must long be considered by many, as among^ the 
doubtful benefactors of mankind. 

The conduct of those who attach themselves exclusively . 
to what are called the Useful Arts, frequently gives an indirect 
sanction to this depreciation of studious habits. Those who 
confine themselves to demonstrative or experimental science^ 
are too apt to undervalue whatever cannot be submitted to the 
rigid test of actual examination, and to discredit the share 
which the imaginative and moral faculties have in influencing, 
the welfiure of the world. The Poet, the Artist, and the lover 
of elegant Literature, are sometimes found equally forgetful of . 
the obligations they owe to Science. The unthinking are always 
r^y to adopt these prepossessions of superior minds ; but 
th^ zeal of party soon subsides with them into a kind of gen«^ 
eral scepticism, and their want of knowled^ conspires with., 
tb^ir indifference, to persuade tbem th^t they have but littlav 
interest in these contentions of opinion* Thus, the <cukivatioi| . 
of )the.mj|id» beyond what is aotually requured for the ordinary / 
oc^ufii^onsiof life, isconsidwed freqiiantly as distnu^tii^. td^- 
temtioDs. and'repairing the mischirf with but>si«BUQretiiaiiirof > 



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OPENING OF THE A-THEN^EUM. ^ 

practical utility. From these contracted views, the seeds of 
^wisdoiny that might moHt advantageoufily have been developed, 
ttre often carried by their unconscious possessors to the grave; 
and the entrusted talent is returned unimproved. By Ae 
ftechnical mode of education, which such notions reconunend, 
-mankind are, as it were, divided into castes, and those preju- 
dices and peculiarities are perpetuated, which are not essen- 
**t]al to practical skill, and cannot fail to become obstacles to 
the free use of the understanding. On the other hand, the 
abstraction from the business of life, and devotion to theoretical 
reasoning, which so often characterise the student, and the 
•exclusive admiration, which not unfrequently is confined to 
\his favourite pursuit, lessens the certainty of his knowledge 
by contracting that field of observation, from which all his 
conclusions must be derived. Thus either by distrust or by 
mn illiberal partiality, the education which nature suggests 
and commences in us, is frequently over-ruled, and the facuU 
iies are submitted to the restraint of unwise prejudice. 

The great restorer of rational philosophy, bas taught us, 
that if we would approach perfection, we must in the devlope- 
ment of the moral character, imitate nature, who in her pro- 
ductions throws out^ at once, the rudiments of all the parts; 
and 4oes net, like the Statuary, while finishing the features 
leave Ae rest of the marble a shapeless mass.* This precept 
applies to the method in which the mind should be cultivated, 
to produce its proper eflR^t on the happiness and conduct of 
Bttuikind. To suppose that all would thus be brought to an 
intellectual equality, would be to attribute too much to human 
^ontroul. The great lines ofdistinction are marked by nature; 
ttid we may surely, without any fear of disturbing the harmotq^ 
'whidi Supreme Wisdom has established, venture to do all fbr 
0ur endowments that we are enabled to do. We are not called 
on to liMTget that division of duties, which social necessitito 
i us. We are only thus taught to bring to our speciBc 

* De Aogmeiitls Sdentianun. lib. 7. Cap 8. 



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8 REV. R. LAMPEN ON THE 

employmetitsy the intelligence of an enlightened and liberal 
mind* To throw on the distinct object of our pursuit^ not a 
few selected rays, but all those blended streams of light, whidb 
we are enabled there to concentrate ; that we may learn its 
various relations, and not set on it such an exaggerated valae, 
. as would withdraw us entirely from objects of still higher in- 
. terest ; or induce us to look down on the other engagements 
of mankind, without bestowing our sympathy and encourage- 
ment. — It is only under such circumstances, that the beneficial 
results of cultivating the mind can be fully experienced. We 
might as justly hope to learn completely, the effects of the 
. senses from one who is blind or deaf, as to see all the nwral ad- 
vantages of a cultivated mind, exemplified under the tyramqr 
of a partial and prejudiced education. 

A mind exactly disciplined accordmg to the suggestions 
. of nature, and not cramped in the developement of its powers, 
would be in little danger of mistaking their importance or 
their object. The higher principles of conduct would not be 
undervalued, by faculties so wisely acyusted; and whatever 
may be the moral influence of intellectual pursuits, it would 
operate without any obstruction from a jealous rivalry or an 
. illiberal neglect. The contemplation of this perfect harmony 
of mind, and of its happy consequences on society, has led some 
theoretical reasoners to imagine extraordinary results from the 
dissemination of knowledge ; and to regard the prog^ress of 
Science, and Arts, and Letters, as the visible gradation by 
which we are advancing towards a moral perfection. Such 
views are certainly attractive from the aspect iu which they 
. seem to place mankind, and the poetry which they throw a- 
round our present existence ; but it must also be confesssed, 
that they have too little foundation to satisfy any one, who has 
been accustomed to consider the strength and the weakness 
of his nature. How shall we forget the lessons of agesf How 
can we reconcile to such a theory the lamentable inconsist- 
enciea which the history of man preaentsf Alas! Sconce 



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onENme of thb AmmnxaM. g 

vad Art have left mighty records of their past greatneas* The 
triimiphs of ancknt Genius still survive in the temple and the 
8tatiie» and the distance of centuries, and the ravages of time, 
have only served to. consecrate them to the veneration of 
remote posterity. But where are die evidences of moral 
greatness which we may trace to the influence of this inteU 
lectual supremacy f Can, we venture to assert, that he who 
raised the Obelisk and the Pyramid, could claim equal 
superiority in moral greatness, over the unlettered Arab,««- 
the dull inheritor of the desert f The rites of Isis and Osiris, 
were long r^arded even at Rome with abhorrence ; and the 
dty which willingly received the shrines of idolatry from all 
parts of the vanquished world, refused to admit within its 
walls the impurities of Egfypt, until Rome also flourished in 
arts, and became feeble in morals. The vestiges of Grecian 
magnificence afford, now, only a melancholy contrast to the 
political and mental degradation of the country of Pericles 
and of Plato. The perpetual freshness of the Literature of 
Greece; — the appeals that her Poetry and Eloquence, and 
Philosophy still make, after a lapse of two thousand years, 
to the feeling and reason of mankind, only confirm the belief 
diat the Intellect and the Will have no necessanf sympaliiy ; 
but that the one may put forth its suUimest energies, while 
the other is the slave of depraved habits. For however grei^y 
we may admire tlutt intensity of character which distinguidied 
the heroes of Greece, and which secured fiir her littie states a 
most in^iortant political existaice ; we shall look in vain for 
thepred<Hninance of those virtues which constitute the niorality 
of the soul. The love of popular distinction was with them 
the diief basis of M that was g^reat and admirable in public 
conduct : but the unpretending sublimity of goodness ; the 
graces which silently bless mankind, and look to conscience 
for their applause; these were, indeed, taught in the Acad^ny 
and the Lyceum, but unnoticed in the general practice of the 
people. The sacred writmgs afford us tiie highest evidence 
of the degraded mcnrak of Egypt and Greece* But even with 



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10 MBV. R. LAMFBN ON THB 

no reveraitial bias oa tbe judgment, no sacred oh§eci ki 
ttiforcing purity of manners, we find a heathen, in a most 
dissolute period of society, holding up these celebrated people 
to the moral detestation of his countrymen* If Gtei^us was 
always accompanied with an eleyation of character, the glo* 
rious recoUectioiis of Egypt and Greece would have rescued 
them from such cenrare in the days of Juvenal. What then 
it may be asked, is the boast (^ civilization t On what ground 
cm we chim exen^ticm from the defects of those, who were 
eminent in Arts and Letters, Have we any cause for suppose 
ing that the intellect and the will are indissolubly connected 
Imd that improvement in morals must inevitably accompany 
our further advances in wisdom? Or, do we acknowledge 
that we are partakers of the same common nature ;--and that 
the higher privileges, imder which we now live, throw too 
frequently, the light of a more painful conviction on the want 
of a steady co-operation between the heart and the under* 
standing f It would be diflScult to deny the conclusion to 
which we are led by the experience of life, in answer to these 
enquiries. 

But if we must not expect that the improv^nent of society 
in its mort vital ii^erests, will necessaribf keep pace with.tlte 
advancement of its knowledge and intelligence; we must not 
discourage exertion. If it be presumption to attribute too 
mudi to man, it is ingratitude to attribute too little >— it is 
ingratitude to the Giver of our opacities; and would tend 
to call in question the wisdom of his disfiensations. While 
our experience, as well as the evidence of history, aasures us 
Aat tbe mind may put forth its poweis, without purifying the 
motives to conduct, we have no authority for concluding that 
moral degradation must result from the cultivation of our 
Acuities. On the contrary, is not their existence a proof that 
they were intended for some g^reat end; and can there be nm 
end more consistent with all the suggestions of conscience 
and the wants of society, than the proper r^ulation of the 



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OPSN1II0 or THE ATBERJBXm. H 

uShtthm and the willf If Aen, tkey Ml of prodoemg ikh 
effect, we may diarge the failure to our own tnisapplica* 
tkm of those means of snbstantial improvement; and dot 
snqpect the highest of our earthi j privileges to be the canse 
(^ all the «Iisorder that disturbs the harmony of mankind. Does 
net the oontenplation of die hnman mmd, and die scene em 
wiuch its energies are to be developed, impress as with that 
view of our destiny, by which Longitfus has apologised for 
the bold negligendes of genius. And are we not ready to 
acknowledge that we are uidiered into diie magfiiifieent world* 
as bef<Nre a multitude of spectators, that we might admire its 
beauty and oontted for ffrofitable distinotioil in ttw.g^Mral 
systeHL Tlmt we therefore peases^a love of #hat is exceHent^-^. 
we long for someAing, even befond o«# possible attaimneats.* 
Shall we ventnre todeny thai snch ah intelleel ndgfat be made 
most beneficial m its effects on nieraliiy, by a wi«e ^fe-e^tion 
of its powers! 

. WiAont supposing the* Oat moral pcdbotion will be Ae 
ce^ain result of cultivating the mind, the natnral tendeu^ of 
thesci endowments of intellect, points out to us, 1^ we Imve 
to run a ooreer of inq^rovement; and dtttt mnch nnatlained 
excellence is still the lawful object of oar fiestre^ ancf emula*- 
tien. We may and ought to look with rejoicing at every effirat 
which is used m obedience to dns suggestion of our nature.— 
Every advance that man makes, in the esteem of the* wise 
and virtuous, is an encouraging testimony that he is fulfilling 
his allotted task. Although his progress will be stopped at 
an immense distance from diat point of perfection, whidk 
theoretical philosophy has supposed attainable, and he must 

• *H i^vaic ov rdmiybv ^/jloq (dfoy^ di/5* ayivyig txpive rov 
avd/H^irov, aXX* «c «^C fiiyakriv nva trariiyvpiy dg rbv fiioy xai ds 
rov irOfAirayra icSafiov lirdyovaa^ ^eardg riyas rdiy oXvv avrijc eaofxi^ 
vdvCf Kal ^iXori/JMrdrovc ayiityi^a^ evBvg dfuv^^oy tptara kvi^vtrsv 
njimt rote ^pvxdc iravrdc dh tov fj^eydXovj Koi tig vpog fifiagf 
ioifAoytwipov. n«/>f •Yi/^oi/c, Cap. 35. 



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12 BEV. R. LAMPBN ON THB 

e^periebce many impedimetitfl which are overlooked in y|gion» 
ary speculations; yet he will have the satis&ction of knowing 
that be does his endeavours to keep ioaankind from d^fenerating, 
and that, in his little sphere, he is the promoter of individual 
and social welfare. Although he feels assured, by oonsci^ice 
and experience, thot some diangenot within human controul, 
is reqiured, to effect a complete i*eformation of the world ; yet 
it is not for him to fix the precise limits of possible improve- 
ment — ^it is not for him to arrest the prog^ress of society, evett 
by his humility, or by his fears. 

And yet such attempts have been made by the lovers of 
paradox, and the state of uncultivated nature, has been asserted 
to be more favourable to virtue and happiniess, than that' of 
an eidightened people. But such notions can have but 'few 
sincere disciples ; for to exalt the savage above the civilized, 
is obviously to go back in the scale of being, and to convert 
the many causes for thankfulness, which spring from the daily 
blessings of life, into sources of distrust and appreh^ion. 
It is to destroy energy, and to foster a gloomy and uncharitable • 
temper — to insulate man, in .the midst of mankind; and to 
accumulate on him the Jtniseries of an alien, i*i the very home, 
and amidst the very hearts, with whom God has linked his 
destiny. For the practical illustration of such a theory, we 
need only look to Rousseau himself— -at cmce die Martyr and 
• Ae Apostate — tinging with this dark notion the whole of his 
8elf-4igoliiBed existence, and yet often flying from it to court 
celebrity amidst the very world, whose institutions he pre- 
toided to despise. So inconsistent must the conduct always 
be, when the reason adopts notions so fiuiciful and extravagant. 
The imperious necessities of life will not suffer our actions to 
keep pace with all these eccentricities of theory. Incoherence 
will frequently betray the unsoundness of such reasoning. If 
it were not indeed for these obvious demonstrations of weak« 
ness, what mischief might not a commanding genius produce 
on the harmony of the social system. 



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OPBNIKO OF THE ATHENJEUM. 18 

. The temperate view of our faculties, and of the advantages 
p esu lth ig from their improvement, offers ns a prospect- of 
blended light and shade ; calling forth at once the virtues of 
hope and diffidence, which too seldom adorn the same intellect. 
To suppose that the mind must powerfully influence the con- 
duct, is only to assign it the natural pre-eminence, by which 
il was made the delegated ruler of this lower creation. The 
wise, regulation and culture of die mind must therefore be 
h^ly beneficial, and we may expect from it the happiest 
fruits. But man is not a being of pure intellect — ^he is made 
up also of appetites and passions which are often most power- 
ful in p^MuasioB, when the mind is weak in restraint. To im- 
pose upon these reluctant energies an authority 

Qui foedere certo 
Et premere, et Uxas idret dare jossus babenas 

is the great office of intellect ; and unless it be so employed, 
its powers are, to individual welfare, worse than useless :-* 
for it becomes treacherous to its important charge, and only 
increases the impetuosity, or allurements of those willing 
principles of evil, which are always sufficiently violent, and 
sufficiently seductive. The improvement of knowledge and 
taste undoubtedly affords the means of ennobling the moral 
character. But it would betray much ignorance of the actual 
state of human nature, to rely solely, on acquisitions, which 
may be worse than superficial. It is not an acquaintance with 
the particulars of a science or an art — it is not Poetry, nor 
Eloquence, nor History, which can be made to bear often on 
the daily exigencies of life, so as to enlighten and determine 
the conduct. Neither is any general notion of right and wrong 
which we may derive from philosophical studies, more effec- 
tual, when real wants and inclinations influence the will. 

How weak an instrument then must the mere diffusion of 
letters, of science, or of taste, prove, in bring^ing about that 
great moral reformatioi) which benevol^ice would r^oice to 
anticipate. And yet how effectual in its tendency, toward 



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14 BEV. B. LAMPEN ON THB 

some amelioration in the character and happinem of mankind, 
if ^ith the extension of the means of acquirii^ knowledg«». 
and intellectual enjoyments, the habits are also difiseminated, 
which make knowledgfe and taste, as it were, essential parte 
of ourselves. Not those habits of exclusive and pedantic 
affectation, which serve only to pamper a momentary vanity, 
but those serious dispositions of mind and heart, which induce 
us to search diligently and modestly after Truth; and that, 
from a steady regard to the proper end of eack pursuits-^ 
moral excellence. 

In most discussions on this subject, the powarftil effiecte 
resulting from the prevalence of mental acquirements, appear 
to be too readily assumed. We hear them spoken of as if they 
were the sole causes of the greatness or decline of nations— 
but surely it argues some forgetfulness of the history and 
constitution of man, to rank them so highly as the arbiters of 
human destiny. A little attention to the progress of our 
faculties, must convince us that many principles of conduct 
exist before the intellect is developed. The wants and instincte 
even of our infancy, and the impressions which may uncon^ 
sciously be made by the conduct of those who watch over our 
helplessness, are perhaps enough to determine the complexi<m 
of the future character. For when the mind begins to expand 
it is too feeble, in its first efforts, to obtain frequent controul 
oyer the will ; and in afiier life, it seldom entirely shakes off 
the restraints imposed by its early weakness. The mental 
character is therefore, originally, rather an effect than a cause ; 
and when it operates upon the regulation of moral conduct^ 
it only repays with interest what it had derived firom the 
parent source. 

If we look to the productions which have obtained the 
admiration of the dvilized world, how decidedly may we 
trace diis strength of moral preposseBsions. The unusual 
vigour of intellect seems only to have afforded the means of 



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OPENINO OF THE ATHBN^UM. 15 

giTUig an extraordinary Ulustration to the peculiar markings 
of character. The mind, unconscious of its dependence is 
obedient to those habits, which hare serred to give a bias to 
the affections; and we may oft^i lament the unhappy celebrity 
which has thrown a veil of beauty over deformity, and bestowed 
eleiration and dignity on those excesses which serve to degrade 
our nature. Nor can we complain that what is truly amiable 
and excellent, has been deprived of similar advantages from 
the triumphant efforts of Literature and the Arts. An in^ 
mortality has been also given to some of the best and purest 
sentiments; — they have been brought before us, as if they 
were c<^ied from beings, more secured from error, and more 
perfect in goodness than those whom we usually meet with in 
the ordinary intercourse o( life : and they were indeed copied 
from minds influenced by a purer moral taste. In these in^ 
stances, abo, the heart has inspired the Grenius, 

But we need not look so high for proofs, that the acquired 
principles of morality most frequently give the leading dii^- 
reaction to the suggfestions of the intellect. The conunon 
experience of life must cmivince us, that what we often think 
a peculiar talent for any pursuit, is only the choice which the 
will prescribes to the judgment. And indeed how can it well 
be otherwise, when we consider the extreme difficulty of 
i ff^yiffig retired pursuits predominate over the daily and hourly 
jrealities, which find so easy an access to the springs of con- 
duct. Th^e are but few who have any correct notion of 
mental labour. To abstract the tbou^ts from objects, which 
are every moment importunate in their solicitations, and to 
fix the mind's eye deliberately and attentively on its own 
conceptioBs:—4o estimate them in all their relations and eoft- 
sequences; and then so to impress on us the result, as to make 
it become a part of our moral nature; — a prmciple of future 
conduct; clashing perhaps with many received and cherished 
habits: — this effort must be allowed to be extremely diftcult; 
and yet, without this, we cannot suppose that the mind can 
effectually correct the perverseness of disposition. 



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16 REV. R. LAMPEN ON THE 

By the manner in which information is most generally 
received into the mind, it is rather acknowledged as an access 
sary than as a principle. If our attention be directed to 
Literature, it is chiefly that we may acquire those graces of 
conversation and intelligence, which may make us acceptable 
in well-informed society, or qualify us for some specific 
employment. If we are engaged in scientific pursuits, they 
are usually reg^arded as satisfying natural curiosity; or as 
merely subservient to the wants of life ; or as the means of 
individual distinction : — ^and the great lessons which they are 
so sublimely capable of teaching, are only incidentally incul- 
cated. The Fine Arts, also, are too seldom considered ks the 
means of improving our conceptions of ideal excellence, and 
bestowing a more exalted character on the moral taste. And 
thus, we are apt to foi^et that our own best interests, together 
with the general welfare and happiness, might possibly be 
promoted by a judicious application of our powers. The 
desultory habits which are encouraged by the wide difiusion 
of the means and fiicilities of improvement, are also calculated 
to weaken, and without much care, ultimately to destroy, 
the beneficial influence of knowledge. A careless perusal of 
opinions can have only a vague and indecisive effect on the 
character. Nothing indeed can be more idle than ordinary 
reading. The eye ranges over the page, without awakening 
the powers of comparison and judgment ; and if the sense be 
tolerably understood, it is all that seems essential. Hie inter- 
pretation of the author's meanrag is too often mistaken for 
the assent of the reader's mind ; and thus every opinion seems 
to have equal weight, but, perhaps, not one leaves a decided 
and useful impression. Hie objects also which the professed 
lovers of intellectual pursuits most frequently propose to 
themselves, are calculated to withdraw the attention from that 
point which should be reg^acded, however distant, as the focus 
of human attainments. — ^Lord Bacon calls this ^mistakii^, or 
misplacing the last and fieurthest end of knowledge," the 
greatest of all the errors which impede its advancement; and 



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OPENDM OV VBM AtVffiKJfcUM. It 

lie emmienitis tamus prepMBettioiii» Aot eften Hrett nk 
horn m jiniAtable use of o«ir feeulties; and ki all of w%idi we 
nay find exeatplifted, the mastery dMA eapriciooa dx^ioeitioft 
loo readily obtons over the miftd. ** M^/' says be, *^ hart 
^ entered into a deeire of knowledge, sometimes upon a naturd 
^ cvrtosity and mquisitive appetite ; sometimes lo entertain 
** dieir minds with variety and deliglit ; sometimes fer or^ 
^^ nament and reputation; wad sometimes to enable them to 
„ rictory of wit and oontredietion; and most times for lucre 
^ and profession ; and seldom mneerely to gpive a ttne aceount 

^of their gift of reason, to tfie benefit and use of men 

^ . « * But this is that whieh will indeed dignify and exalt 
** knowledge, if eontemplation Mid action may be more nearly 
** and straitly conjoined and umted together, than they hav« 
*^ been.^ • 

To secure this happy coidbination, it is most essential thai 
we should above all, cultivate tbe great principles of moral 
improv^nent :— that we should bring to our pursuits, not a 
mind freed from all prepossessions, hat a mind subject to that 
best of influenees, which will secure at least an honest appli* 
cation of its powers. If we expect such a disposition to grow 
naturally out of our pursuits, we shall certainly deceive our^^ 
selves. The goodness of Providence has placed at our disposal, 
agreatsaeans of advancing our usefulness and our happiness; 
and if we take care to cidtivate that acute sense of what is 
eKoellent, whidi is die best protection of a vulnerable reason^ 
and the sufest guide of an erring judgment, we may look 
abroad through nature with the confidence that befits a man* 
ful exercise of our entrusted powers. We may explore the 
n^psteries of science; we may range over the treasures <^ 
learning; we may indulge in the del^hts of imagination;---* 
the moral sense will accompany our thoughts in all these ^c* 
cursions; and while it purifies the sources of enjoyment, it 

;|^ On the Advanoement of Learning* Bock h 
C 



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18 RI!V. R. LAMPSN ise. 

will direct the attention to what should be the leading object 
of our pursuits — the relation of the affections and the wilL 
Although the experience of the world does not encourage 
us to hope^that we shsdl completely attain this desirable har- 
mony of all our faculties; yet, let it be remembered, that we 
now live under peculiar advantages. While the means of 
knowledge are inore generally diffused than at any former 
period, the private character is more an object of attention. 
Instead of aiming at an undefined and poetical idea of ex- 
cellence, which has no relation to our present state, we are 
taught by Christianity to regard the realities of life, and 
the minute details of conduct; and such appeals are made, 
to the heart and conscience of each individual, that if he.be 
not insensible, he must feel his personal interest in the general 
morality. But all these great assistances call on us for more 
than ordinary caution, lest we lose the good they offer. Let 
us studiously begin with the r^^lation of the heart; let it 
be our first and supreme care to bring it under the discipline 
of religion ; let our diligence be worthy that sacred object of 
our ambition ; and every accession of knowledge, will then 
be an accession of happines&--an accession of favour, in the 
sight of that Being, who can alone sanctify and render accept* 
able our defective services. 

In offering these observations, I believe I have only given 
language to the sentiments of this Institution. It is not to 
obtain the unprofitable reputation of advancing novelties, that 
I have felt myself called on now to address you ; but it has 
been my humble endeavour that the first discourse, delivered 
in this Athenseum, should declare the essential principles on 
which our Society is established — ^those principles, which are 
the surest bond of permanent union, and which can alone 
entitle our efforts to any attention and respect. 



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1. — OEOLOOICAL SURVEY OP SOME PARTS OrTHff 
COUNTRY NEAR PLYMOUTH, PARTICULARLY BET?FEEN THE 
PLYM AND TAMAR; BY JOHN PRU)£AUX, MEMBER OF THE 
PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 



This lisatedy and posribly inacciirate, geological dietehof 
our neighboiirhood, willy I hope, be acceptable to the society, 
both because the variety of. rooks in so small a space, the 
diversity of their position, and their extraordinary exposure 
and accessibflity, are of sufficient interest to deswve bemg 
known; and that it is well for institutions like ours, to be 
acquainted with the detafls (tf whatever concerns science in our ^ 
own precincts, to lighten the labours of those who investigate 
on a broader scale* 

The granite of Dartmoor, from Mist-tor to Hey-tor, 
and south of that line, has the following characters; which 
probably belong to the whole. 

It is entirely mountainous, the highest hills being on the 
borders; where some of them attain an elevation of nearly 
2000 feet. The valleys run in various directions ; but have a 



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20 PRIDEAUX— GEOLOGY O^ THE 

tendency upon the whole, to the north and south line. The 
hills rise often steep, sometimes precipitous; their sides 
scantily clothed with long g^raas, except where rushes or moss 
indicate siibjacent bog : and often strewed with loose blocks 
of granite, from 60 or more tons down to the size of a flag- 
stone. A crag, called the tor, usually projects at the summit 
of the hill, having a very striking appearance of stratification ; 
the fissures being sometimes horizontal, more commonly a 
little inclined. This stratified character is not less general in 
the quarries; where, although there are none of those marked 
divisions, indicative of intermissions in the original deposition 
of the rock, the stone always comes out in beds. Ihe dip is 
different in different hills, but seems to have a prevailing 
tendency toward east and south. 

Not only the hills are higher on the borders, but in many 
places the granite seems harder there, and of closer texture* 
Hey-tor, Sheeps-tor, CoUard-tor and Pen-beacon will illus- 
trate this; as well as Calstock, the granite of which belongs t^ 
a more westerly pfKgeetkm« We must except, howevery as will 
pt^sendy appeaor, U» hill siiles in innediate contftot Willi 
certa«i rodu adjjoini^ tfte ] 



The hndBesB varies, from sach as abnst to defy iHm iaoik 
to Ihait whaeh lalls to pieces by the blow of a Wimer, or 
may even be cat Jknm wiAi a spadfe, like graird. 

The colour is not much more uniform, being generi^ly 
pale grey or whitish in the mass, with a shade of red or 
yellow; but it is fbund, frem afanost black wiA schorl, to 
ptire shining white: and some occurs ef a rich red, superior 
in beauty to any Egyptian granite I hare seen; partieulariy 
where it contains tourmaline. 

Tbttt it is metalliferous every body knows : tin being Ae 
moat CCfftmoD product* Copper sumctiuieaoccurs, and in a fcw 



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9m 



CX>UNTRT NfiAR PLYMOUTH. 31 

ittitftiirtw, numganeie has been nM&tiuned ; of which« as the 
mMcrn hare reasons for ooBcealii^ it, I do not know the 
geological relation to the rock-^whether it lies on the surface^ 
or penetrates it in reins. Lead I hare not heariik of in thk 
fonnation. 

This granite is rich in schorl and poor in mica, consequently 
less impregni^ed with magnesia, and perhaps more subject to 
Ae opergtion of the weather than is common to that rock-^ 
€ire«Hiatances which may help to explain its comparatire 
^srlility in grass. In sittnmer it feeds great numbers of cattle; 
mA m extremely hot and dry weather, when the herbage 
lAiewlMire is burnt up, assumes the appearance of great 
ver^kire; its humid soil and oold atmosphere, which at other 
times gire it apale and hungry aq^^ct, contributiBg then to 
its fertility. 

Th» dose crystattine texture of the rock, obliging the 
0oadttttBed fegs and ram to run orer its surftce, wprobably the 
lOiisn, that the valleys are boggy; extending in numerous 
caasiw ^ Ae Ul sides and across the summit. These bog% 
dangerous to cattle, are not without their value ; being the 
gronfc depositories of ftiel ; an tanportant article in those bleak 
VSgioaWf wh^re a firoi^dde is often i^p^eeable in an evenii^ ^ 
h\y. The peat gradually aocmuttlated there, has attained 
a depdi in mcmy places^ exceeding 20 feet.r The deeper, the 
more it isprizedt the lawer portions, condensed by the super* 
Jnimmfcent we^^ beeoning a much m(»« efiecliTe fuel* 

Stprii^ comiQjOiily br^k out from these bogs, as though 
Snperftcial to the stone; but there are intanoes ^ a difierent 
lliid^'Hii the eastern foot of Ugborough-beacon, is a fine 
spling, powtng out of the roek, probably two hogsheads n 
minute. Such as these may perhaps <rwe their ongiu to 
sMlhGr condition of the gnmite, where the crystab of quarts 
aai Mqpar ire ine^MBent, awl the ackori hat Tcry mmck 



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82 PRlrtEAUX-^GEOLOGY OP THE 

disappeared, forming a sort of g^rel many yards in deptb« 
Such a bed of great extent, lies on one side of Hessary-tor, 
near the prison. 

In wood, this rock appears to be unproductive. A few 
young plantations of fir do not yet appear to suffer more than 
might be expected from the climate ; some fine trees are found 
about the borders of the streams; and trunks of considerable 
dimensions, have been dug up from the bogs: but it is said 
by gentlemen possessing estates on the granite, and my obser* 
vation agrees with it, that trees, after reaching a certain 
height, rise no farther ; spreading and twisting their branches, 
without proportionate increase of trunk. Wistman^s-wood, 
a plot of oaks, supposed to be of a thousand years standing; 
the largest less than a man's waist, and within twenty feet 
high, is air extreme instance. . 

The outline of the granite, from Tavistock to Hey-tor, 
southward, may indeed be almost traced by the coppice 
which clothing the declivities of the slates and other rocks 
that abut against it, disappears suddenly on its gritty soil. 

Entering the moor from Tavistock, Cocks-tor, a trapp 
loountain must be passed, before we reach the granite at 
Staple-tor. Thence it runs a little westward of south to 
Pu*tor, two miles; to Crip^^or, east one mile; to Sheeps-tor, 
south five miles; whence it leaves a deep curve, occupied by 
a hill of schorl rock, with some slates, (Ringmoor-down,) 
and comes out west again at Wigford-down. At Dewerstone, 
the southern angle of this down, cmd 8. W. point of the 
Dartmoor granite, it is finely exhibited in a vertical cliff pf 
probably one hundred and fifty feet, down to the bed of the 
river. Hence E. S. E. about two miles to Collard-tor ; N. by 
E. thriee miles to Pen Beaccm ; E. one and half mile, and at 
much S. to Blatchf<Hd-hUI; and about S. E. by S« to die 
Weslem4>6acoD, fall four miles. Thiff ii the aoathenmioit 



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OOianrRT NEAR PLYMOUTH. 23 

point; thence about two miles N. E. by N. to Ugborough 
beacon; about four miles in a concave line N. by E. to 
Shipley-tor; thence a little westward of north, about seren 
miles to the Dart. From Sharp-tor, on the north bank of the 
Dart ; N. £• by N. about four miles to Widec(»nbe ; S. by E. 
about the same distance to Bippon«tor; and doubling back 
Ji. £• by N. three miles to Hey-tor; which is probably its 
easternmost projection. Mudge's map may be referred to for 
these points. 

Gneiss has no where occurred to me, within this range; 
but the slate, where in contact with the granite, is often 
micaceous — as at Meavy, Shaugfa, Black«alder«tor, Hey-tor 
&c. • These micaceous slates extend but little way from the 
granite, clay slate succeeding; though usually separated by 
an interyening valley. At Black-alder-tor, the mica slate 
merely covers the g^ranite like a peel. The only place I met 
with, where the soil on this slate was extensive enough for 
cultivation, is at Hey-tor; where it appeared to yield good 
crops of corn. 

. In other cases, as at Collard and Walkhampton, the slate 
in contact with the granite is not spangled ; but has a general 
glimmering sur&ce approaching to that of talc, without the 
unctuous feel of magnesian minerals. This slate is not un- 
favorable to agriculture. 

OnYanadon-down; from the Western-beacon to Ugborough 
beacon ; and in a larger tract from Dean to Holne, a hard stony 
slate bounds the granite. This rises into steep and high hills, 
unfertile, except in wood. It dips regularly away from 
the granite, at different degrees of declivity, but generally 
sleep. 

Great part of the way from Ugborough-beacon to Deany- 
wood) and again on the north side of the Dart, the granite is 



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2i PRIDEAUX-^OEOtiOaY OF THB 

bauncled by a rock ruimiiig into all ite creaks and bays^ and 
rifiing into hilLi of no great altitiHle. This is a killas, with 
the texture of Ane clay slate, but little of its laminar structure* 
It differs from the ordinary appearance of greywacke, heM} 
but IB known to the country people by Ihe same appellation 
^Blue Dun,*' and sometimes passes into more decided grey* 
wacke, at a distance from the granite. It is very regtilmr hi 
dip ; reposing upon the sides of the g^nite; but the pomt of 
contact never occured to me, though sought with care to 
ascertain whether any thing like amalgamation took place. 
In many places, the separate rocks jutted out within Airty 
yards of each oth^; yet a detached fragment only could be 
found, wherein they are in contact. In this fragment the 
division is an abrupt line ; the killas deep iron grey ; the 
granite pale buff, with the aspect of imperfect crystallization f 
distinguishing the granite of veins in Cornwall. In several 
parts where this killas is the boundary, the same condition of 
the gfranite occurred ; and also where it comes in contact widi 
the stratified iron ore, at Hey-tor. 

This killas is highly fertile, differing singularly from the 
adjoining granite. In no place is this more remarkable, than 
at Buckland, on the Dart ; where die killas runs in a trough 
between two granite mountains. The vivid green of its turf and 
die rich wood running up die acclivities, contrast strikingly 
with the pale herbage and bald crowns of its overtopping 
neighbours. It appears amidst the slate in Holne parish, and 
die different value of the land, marks its superior fertility. 
At Yolland estate, at the foot of Shipley<-tor, some fine trees 
iqppeared in the midst of the granite; on approaching ^en, 
they were found to be growing cm a patch of this killas, not 
a tree qpreading out to the granite on eiAer side. 

I have heard of no metallic veins in this rock: and» 
ahfaongh it exhibitB no striking marks of stratification, pre- 
nents nn vertiges of organic remains, mMl fies mmediateiy on 



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eOUNTftT NEAR PLYMOUTH. 25 

die granite; it appears to me to be a transition rock, belonging 
to tbe grqrwacke fiunily. 

In several places the moor is extended by high hills of consi- 
derable dimensions, composed of various compounds of schorl, 
quartz and daystone, or slate. Ringmoor-down, parts of Wig- 
ford andBoborough-downs,Crownhill-down and several others, 
tare oi this kind. In some cases these i^ocks are compounds of 
decided crystals of quartz and schorl ; in others of granular 
combinations of the same ingredients; sometimes of particles 
so minute, as to be difficult to distinguish by the aid of a 
microscope, forming a hard, nearly black, stone ; and most 
commonly of this black variety, striped and spotted with 
veins or crystals of white quartz, and sometimes with clay- 
stone or slate. This rock yields a poor soil, but much better 
than granite; the natural herbage on it affects a deep brown 
colour, from short shrubs and furze. All the varieties are 
known to the miner by the uame of caple, and yield both tin 
and copper. Lead in a very trifling quantity is found in it, 

' I have be^ unable to find a point of contact between these 
rocks and granite; but as the black variety often runs in 
distinct veins into the latter rock, they probably do not pass 
into each other by gradual transition. Loose blocks of each 
lie tumbled together about the hills, at Blatchford and else- 
where. The road firom Cadaford-bridge to Cornwood runs 
over a long hill, between Saddlesborough and Trowlsworthy- 
tor, where not only blocks but gravel of each rock mingled 
togeth^, se^DA to form the hill, without any solid rock ; and 
it is difficult to say which predominates. The soil formed of 
this mixture grows wood pretty well, but does not appear 
to have been much cutltivated, 

The bounding rock, remaining to be noticed, is trapp; 
Cocks-tor, before mentioned, is the first mountain where this 
occurs; and it runs north to White-tor, Brazen-tor, and pro- 



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26 PRiraAUX.-4}E0L(N»T Of TBB 

bably much farther. It is almoet pure hdrn-blende^ in diffcrait 
degrees of compactness, and consequently, of specific grwky^ 

At Cods^tor, and tl^faite^tor, it comas m contact idth 
day-slette— at Brazen-tot, with gtanite. Chy-date ocemies 
the western side of Coclcs-tor, and fimns a ridge near the 
summit, where it comes into contieM^ Willi the trapp, Una 
ridge still preserves its. laminar structure, but instead of ita 
argillaceous aspect has aranmed that of flhit, aiid gives fire 
under the hammer. lA many places it is become ribband 
jaiq>er. Similar ribband jasper, but finw, as a minerd i^eci^ 
men, is found in Mocks, at the foo^ of Whit6i^r ; produced^ 
in all probability, in the same maimen 

At Brazen-tor, where die trapp and granite join, the ponMs 
of contact were, as often happens, hidden by turf. It il 
however, worth notice, that on the side of Ihe gramte next the 
trapp, it is distinguished by the intermixture of todirfes and 
veins of granular schorl and quartz; the granite itself assum* 
ing the red colour, usual here when tourmaline is present. 
Whatever may be the natural relation between schorl and 
horn-blende; in this instmce, the minerals are sufficieotly 
distinguished by the lesser hardness, ready fusibflity^ and 
greenish fracture of Ae hom-Uen(^. 

These trapp hills are higher than the granite next totbem, 
the dip not very decided. Cocks-'tor appears, in several 
positions to dip south east beneath the granite; and such » 
the appearance at Brazen-tor— the granite itself seeoto to have 
a prevailmg dip in the same direction; laid its south eastern 
side, having every induTvation filled iti by the slat^ or haias^ 
appears to have been at rest from the period when those r6db 
were deposited. It nught be inferred, that the trapp had heaved 
the granite mass on the nordi West; and gushing out from 
beneath, had partially fused the edge of the date wUeh sop^ 
ported its ether side; but as the dip of the trapp is not jMo, 



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QOUNTRT NEAR PLYMOUTH. 27 

and Abe granite hilk are not iuglieBl on the ncNrdi west, ibk 
Gondinkm can hardly be bonie out so &r as that rock is 
concerned. 

nioreii anoAer raatanee of due action on die alate. On 
the fiJate hiU loofcii^ down on Ivybridge from die nordi, a 
rklge near die manmit is of yery beai:^iful green and vfaite 
ribbon jasper: whSst die highest peak is of sienitic green^ 
sttme; whkh judgng from the cdcrar of die herbage that 
conceak die rode, extends for « mile or mcfe back to die 
granile. 

JTnst above die weirJiead of the Tamar, is another graaite 
hiH, called Calstock Granite; frmn that being die nearest 
town to the quarry: it is die easternmost point oif a €omish 
range; dips sondi-^ast by sondi about 20^; is greyish white in 
die mass, small grained; of limpid quartz, black and brown 
sihrcry micat sfocnla of black sdM>rl and grams of translucid 
iauMudine, with some long rh<Mnbs of felsqpar, conented 
together by die latter substance, irr^fidariy crystallised. 
Reposing on this, south, is date of a whitish yellow colour, 
breaking into huge riiomhs ; the bndntt haymg a nodular 
at «inev^en £ice, mot deady micaceous. 

8oudi4if this dale are Morwell rocks; yery hard primitiye 
slate, and havaig in some parts a striated or fibrous, in others 
a sort of ^immering speckled appearance. Thence all down 
die Tanar, almost to Sahash, we haye a succession of palish 
grey slate, dipping south, and becoming gradually softer and 
tinged with green, as we proceed soudiward. At Cotehele, 
we find the deep iron grey slate only, spangled in some places 
wiAmica. It laminates pretty fredy; breaks into rhcmibs; and 
is eouiected with, if not traversed by beds of hard grey i^ne, 
of fine granular quartz and schorl ; having also a rhomboidal 
firaetmre in die large, but granular in the smdl. This slate 
seems to dip away firmn the western granite, wbmoe it is 



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28 PRIDEAUX-^GEOLOGY OP THE 

distant three or four miles. The beds of granular stone strongly 
resembling greywacke are probably a crystallme deposit ; for 
I found no indication of the slate being other than prindtire. 

After passing Pentillie (south) the slate is looser in texture, 
brownish; and haying all the appearance of the transition 
slate which alternates with our limestone. Near Saltash, we hare 
on both sides of the rirer beds of granular greywacke per* 
vadihg the slate, and a few thin beds or veins of limestone; 
and this alternation continues on the east bank down to the 
Dock-yard, where the limestone formation commences. In 
fact, the eastern bank from the weir-head downward, is 
generally slate dipping south; cmd it is remarkmble, that the 
dip increases as we recede from the granite, Morwell rocks 
scarcely diverging 10^ from the horizontal line, and those near 
Saltash approaching almost as near to the vertical. 

A line drawn from the granite at Calstock, to diat at 
Sheeps-tor, will lie east by south, and pass I believe, entirely 
over slate, of varying dip, not only in declivity but in direc- 
tion ; each hill often differing in these respects from the next. 
Sometimes it is disturbed in the same hills by clefts and veins. 
These irregularities might have been expected, from the posi- 
tion between two granite eminences, as above mentioned. This 
slate varies in colour; whitish, greenish, red, grey: the two 
first rising high, pervaded with quartz, and little productive; 
the grey, soft and fertile ; and the red, where not too cold 
from elevation, perhaps still more favorable to agriculture. 
The grey, forms much of the fertile soil, toward Tavistock; 
the red, round Walkhampton. 

Just north of this line, on Morwell-down, are blocks of 
coarse porphyry, with rhombs of feddish buff felspar ; the 
rock in situ occurring to the miners, probably undemeadi 
the slate; for though these blocks lie about upon the slate, 
for some miles, the rock itself did not fell in my way. The 



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COUNTRY NEAR PLYMOUTH. 29 

Baloie porphyry is, however, found at Grenofen, three miles 
farther east, about a mile north of the line above stated; 
where it is quarried for mending the road, and again in larger 
quantity about Walkhampton : it breaks into flat pieces, and 
seems to yield to the weather. The superincumbent soil, at 
Grenofen and Walkhampton, is fertile; but whether from 
greater elevation, or from the porphyry being covered with 
hard slate, I did not observe this character on Morwell-down. 
North of Grenofen, slate prevails both eastward and westward ; 
the country about Tavistock, however, still needing geological 
investigation, for which it presents an interesting field. 

Southward of the above stated line, the entire peninsula 
between the Tamar and Tavy is slate ; dipping almost uni- 
formly south; and becoming softer and less elevated as it 
proceeds southward frcnn the granite. In the northern part 
of this peninsula, some is gritty and whitish, other softer 
and grey ; but more generally it is hard and greenish, with 
white quartz veins, and strewed with snow-white bowlders of 
the latter substance, retaining sufficient marks of their origin; 
which having withstood the atmospheric depredations on their 
kindred slate, were probably rolled about and rounded by the 
deluge. Some very large and heavy masses still retain their 
native position, protruding their white shoulders through the 
slate. These bowlders disappear before we reach Beeralston; 
and the hill tops, wild and unproductive from the hardness 
of the stone and want of shelter, present a fine contrast widi 
the lively green of the southward view, down the valleys 
bordering the Tavy, and the wooded sides of their low hills; 
all of soft slate. This slate is metalliferous, the country being 
pierced with mines of tin, copper, lead and silver, almost from 
Tavistock to the confluence of the two rivers. 

East of the Tavy, and between that and the Mew, the wild 
elevated tract under several names may be generally included 
under the term of Roborough-down. Distinguished from the 



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80 PRIDBAUX-OECMLOGY OF TH£ 

neighbouring granite, by the greenness of its bordering valleys, 
and the copse covering its declivites, it is again a slate format 
tion. The predominant dip is westward of «outh at least 40^, 
but the pofiitionis a good deal disturbed ; and it is intersected 
by other rocks in several places. 

At the point where the road turns off to Dartmoor prison, 
just above the western elbow of the Mew river, is a remarkable 
projecting rock, rising out of the slate. It consists <^ quartz, 
slaty lamina, iron ochre and schorl ; forming a caple of the 
miners, and appears to be a vein pervading the slate; its 
prominence due to its superior power of resisting the weather. 
It nms nearly westward across the down, exhibiting the gen« 
eral dip of the neighbourhood, though probably not tw^ily 
feet wide ; similar appearances, on a smaUer jscale, occur in 
other parts of the down. 

Southward of this, running from nearly opposite Hoo Meavy 
to Bickham, is a bed of singular porphyry, with no defined 
dipt bowlders of which are strewed about the down so exten- 
sively, as to have acquired for it the name of ^Rolxn^ugh 
Down stone." It is almost white on fresh fracture, beconung 
brown by the weather, and is frdl of small cavities, seldom 
exceediug 0,1 inch diameter. It is thinly disseminated with 
minute crystals of limpid quartz; and the cavities, which 
iqptpear to be cubical when regularly formed, contain in some 
instances, remains of the matter with which they were originally 
fiUed. 

The cement, forming nine-tenths of the stone has an earthy 
fracture; yields, when scraped, a powder sparkling with a 
micaceous aspect; and is very imperfectly frisible before the 
blowpipe. It is perhaps mica, in a very fine granular form, 
if such an appellation be permitted. The same rock appears 
agam, west of the Tamar, at Harewood, where it is quarried : 
but the quarry presents only loose buried blocks. On the 



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msmmmmm^^m 



COUNTRY NEAR PLYMOUTH. 91 

south eafltern angle of the down, towiyrds ShaogJi and Biekldgh, 
lf€ hare tiie hard black or narbled compoond of (|iiart]& and 
schorl ; and lower down approachii^ the riyer, gritty ihie^ 
fi^pangled with mica: neither of which rocks I could find 
exposed, so as to distinguish its relatiTe position; tfaov^h the 
black rock often protrudes angles Aroi^h Ae turf, and 
detached flagaon ts of both, corer the ground* 

After leaidBgltoboroiigh-^lown, the whole oomitry betweett 
the Plym and Tamar, for two miles south, is slate, generally 
hard, with a regular southerly dip; traversed byasi^glebed 
ef coB^mct felspar, which iscut by the ra9*road near Fancy, 
iHiere it is not abore thirty feet wide; and by bfood vdm 
ef qtnstx. 

About two mileB soodi of Biddeig^, the Plym rirer eats 
a bed of excellent roofing slate, worked to a considerable 
extant on boA its banks* Cann quarry, the easleni workings 
presentiiig a beautiful pietMre, fircm the rail-^ood. This slate 
has the coBfannable steep southerly dip«-*it8 natural sutfiice 
is clothed with wood* 

A sluM^KilBnce south of this, the railroad cut out of the 
hfll sides poralM fo the rirw, Itty^ open an extensive rock 
of greenstone* lliere is a little contortion of theslaty lamina, 
as it appioadiestlus gremistolie, and tlie date its^ becomes 
pale green ; a colour which continues^ where the rock loses 
the slaty form, and becomes fine graiular. As the grain be-> 
comes coarser, the colour deepens; unt3 the rock acquires a 
de^ green hue and rough granular texture : little white blades 
of felqrar shcjwing m some jfMorts; and black spots of hom« 
blende becoming evident when a piece of the stone ii breathed 
oi* There is, in one place, an appearance of dip south 
westward about 80^; but the deavage linee are generally too 
irregular to put nraoh oonfldwee in. 



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wmmmmmm 



32 PRIDEAUX— GEOLOGY OF THE 

It rises into hills, not so high as the slate ; the soil upon it 
being fertile. The twin hills, on which stand the houses of 
Rock and Estover, are composed of it, and it probably ex- 
tends no farther, for I could not find it at the distance of a 
mile from the river, in any direction. It is all around bounded 
by slate, passing into it by the gradual transition above des- 
cribed, wherever the limits appeared. The greenstone seems 
to be an intruder; not however exhibiting the decided marks 
. of igneous action said frequaitly to accompany it. 

About the same parallel conmiences a formation of grey- 
wacke; its northernmost point beii^ near Knackersknowle; 
and mixed widi a soft slate ; each often passing insensibly into 
the other, forming the high ground which branches out one 
mile and half west by north to Honiknowle ; again the same 
distance west to Penny cross; and again three miles south west 
to Swilley ; where it is extensively quarried. The souifchern 
boundary runs in a curve line to and across the top of Towns- 
endJiUl, where a ridge appears to mark die limit, to a hill 
just south of the village of Crabtree, where a similar ridge is 
seen, at the quarry, to indicate the line of separation jfrom the 
slate. The greatest breadth of this g^ey wacke from north to 
south may be two miles; frt)m east to west it runs four miles 
at least; and as we have it again just bdiind Saltram, it is 
probably connected with the shnilar rock which appears as 
has been already stated, to follow in some places, the outline 
of the moor. Here, as elsewhere, the soO on the greywacke 
is of distinguished fertility ; and particularly where it is ift 
contact with the slate. 

This greywacke, here called ^Bunstone," is generally 
compact, and hard enough to make a good roadstone. It 
suffers from the weather; particularly where it happens to 
present an eastam face, south of the granite ; mouldering and 
becoming honeyMH)mbed, the hollows containing ochreoiiB 
matter. It is often disseminated with amygdaloid granules of 



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COUNTRY NJSAB PLYMOUTH. 33 

limpid crystallized cavbenate of lime, and sometimes of black 
schorl— and it generally returns the odour distinctive of hom- 
hlmide, when breathed on. Veins of qnartz accompanied with 
pulyerulent black oxide of manganese often occur, particulary 
in tbe slaty portions | and the latter substance occasionally fills 
the pores of the exposed rock; instead of the oohreous matter 
aboyementioned. It is yery fusible before die blowpipe, which 
joined to its susceptibility to the weadier^ seems to indicate jts 
containiBg an alkali. 

A distinction appears between the slate belongmg te the 
dunstoney and the transition south of it^ partioularly the blue 
slate* At Crabiree, this blue slate comes in contact widi the 
dunstene^ (whicfav at this point is granular,) with an abrupt 
liner of division ; and yet this same slate is found in amygda- 
loid fcNnuations^ in the body gS the dunstone itself. They ape 
finrmations, and not breccia; because their surfaces are ill 
defined, and the lamina of the different nodule% bx apart, are 
parallel with each odier, and with the slate rock. This seems 
lo mark a particular disposition to sqmration: whilst the 
Dunstone slate often passes so gradually into the compact 
rook, that two observers will hardly agree where the Ikie of 
sq^aratioB fdiould be drawn* 

A detached l^tof greywacke is <)narried behind Mount 
Tamar House, half a mile south of St. Budeaux. It runs in 
thin beds,, or veins, through the slate, to Saltash, as has been 
before observed* This greywacke is granular, and has so much 
resemblance- to the last named greenstone^ that judging from 
our own neighbourhood only, I should have felt disposed to 
assign to these rooks an* allied inrigin. 

No metidlic veins have be« observed, in eUhet the greeU'^ 
stone or grey wBd&e.^ 

A haid black rock, with white <|uaits v^iw^ cUled by the 

£ 



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34 PRIDEAUX— 6E0L0GV OF TfiE 

country people ^'Blackacre/' yery different from greywacke, 
sometimes caps the slate hills. It is most conspicuous at 
Warleigh-tor; where it lies comformably with the slate, and 
laminates in some parts. I do not know diat it requnres partis 
cular notice; being perhaps nothing but slate, widi a larg^ 
proportion of silica. 

The clay slate at Cann-quarry seems to draw a line of 
distinction, between the harder, trayersed by broad quartz 
yeins, which lies north of that bed; and the softer and more 
fertile to the southward. To the latter there is perhaps an 
exception at St. Budeaux : where, although not deficient in 
fertility, the slate assumes a hard and somewhat nodular tex- 
ture; much like that of Morwell rock. It rises high and 
steep, and looks like a hill of primitiye slate protruding 
through the tranntion rocks. It is accompanied by two other 
insular rocks; each appearing in only one small point; and no 
where else within the compass of this sketch. 

The first of these is a felspar or porphyry, with a decayed 
appearance, full of cracks: and pervaded by spicules of 
schorl, sometimes an inch long* It rises at the comer of a 
field, just where the King's Tamerton road forks off, from that 
leading from St. Budeaux to the Saltash turnpike ; and has a 
dip south-east, or even more easterly ; the strata around it 
dipping westward of south. The other appears at the angle 
where the St. Budeaux road joins that turnpike ; occupying 
again the comer of a field, as a sort of quarry. It exhibits 
rounded masses, looking not unlike granite bowlders; some 
projecting from the soil, where it is cut down to a vertical face, 
the others standing up from the rock beneath. In the latter 
is some appearance of cleayage, corresponding with the dip of 
the country. The blocks projecting from the soil look as 
hard as any, but a kick disintegrates some of them entirely ; 
and when cut down with a spade, they exhibit concentric 
lines, appearing to decay in irregular balkn-whence doubtless 



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OOdfrnT NEAR PLYMOUTH. 35 

their bowlder-like appearance. The soil, formed of the disin. 
tegrated rock, looks something like a soft micaceous sand ; 
but being compressed, and again shaken loose, the glistening 
disappears, and it shews a soft, free soil. Round the rock it 
appears very fertile; but there is no clear indication how far 
it extends beneath* The stone is composed of a yery fusible 
mica, brown and semimetallic in appearance; and granules 
of white felspar: whence the granitic appearance above 
noticed. 

From the south of the greywacke, slate, dipping generally 
south, and covered with a fertile soil, occupies all the country 
till we reach the limestone. At the Lary-bridge we see at 
once, the different form of the hills of slate and limestone ; 
the different level they attain ; the alternation between the two 
rocks at the point of contact : and after continued dry weather 
( a rare condition here, between the Atlantic and the granite 
peaks ) the different character of their soil, in the colour of 
the turf. 

As the slate approaches the limestone, tables of limestone 
lie in it ; and as the latter becomes predominant, it is pervaded 
with slaty lamina, for a considerable distance. Where in 
contact the two rocks are conformable in position ; but the 
limestone in other points, is less regular in dip than the slate. 
The hills of limestone are much less elevated than those of 
slate, and whilst the latter rise gently from the south and fall 
steep northward, those of limestone assume a contrary incli« 
nation. The soil on the limestone is thin, and dries quickly ; 
that on the slate deeper, and retentive of moisture : the lime 
being the most fertile, except in dry weather. 

No organic remains are found in the rocks northward ; nor 
in the slate, until just about its junction with the limestone. 
Even there they are so rare, that I have met with none in situ; 
but encrinal columns have been found in the slate by the Rev. ' 



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36 PRIDBAUX-^OBOLOeY OF 1^ 

Richard HenlialH F, 6. S. In the limestone they are abundant ; 
and in the copious collection of that gentleman, offer noyelty 
as If ell as variety to the investigator. In the hope that this 
pcqper will be soon followed by one from him, on the organic 
remains of our limestone, I leave that part of the subject entirely 
in his hands; conscious that from inclination as well as oppor« 
tunity he is better qualified for it than myself. Catdown and 
Teat's-hill are entirely limestone; which very soon after parting 
from the slate, assumes a reddish hue, from the presence of sili- 
ceous matter of that colour. This presenitly after, appears in 
bulk in thecharacter of the old red i^^ndstpne ; alternating with 
the limestone, south, though much less strikingly than the slate 
does northw^d. The Hoe also is limestone, as well as some 
of the south part of the town : but it is the mere ridge next 
the sea, in this place; for the new houses in Lockyer-street, 
are founded on slate. Westward it passes farther inland. 
The new Crescent is founded on the alternation of slate and 
limestone; and at the back of Millbay, we have the latter rock 
extensively quarried, and rising into respectable hills. As 
we go on to Devonport, we have it on the south side of the 
rpad, and slate on the north. V^ry little of die town of 
Devonport stands ojk limestone; greywacke running so far 
south there, as to form the hill, on whi^h is built the new 
Town-hall. The limesione terminates west, with Bunker's- 
hill, in the Dock-yard* 

There is a marked diversity in ojor limestone ; in texture> 
position, and contained animal reliques. Th^ eastern is pro* 
bably the oldest, and the western the newest deposit: but the 
consideration of this subje^^t may more properly belong to 
Mr. Hennah's paper. 1 will only observe here, that if it 
prove so, oiir limestone is a different formation frcmi that 
farther east, which Mr. De la Beche refers tp the carboniferous 
series. This is also probable from its direction h^re, which is 
rather southward of eaiit, as veil a^ from the loore crystalline 
appearance of the stone. 



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COUNTRY NBAR PLYMOUTH. 37 

DeTi)'»*pomt» paralkl with an outlying rock at Mount 
Edgcumbef au<l tht^ Penln^a of Mount Batteiif k the south<- 
erninoi^t pmjcK^tioii of this limestoue ; aiid not only contains a 
good d^^al of t^ sand, io iu texture^ but i^ traversiMl by 
eoafomiable beds of uinQixed red sandstone; one of whicb 
20 feet tbick, w$s laid open iu digging away the ground for 
tbe new Victualling Office; and otJiars, smalter are visible in 
seyeral places. 

As ja»t stated* there is a soiall deposit of limeetone at the 
northern angle of Mount Edgcumbe; and on tbe opposite side 
of the barboitr^ Mount Batten, k a hill of tlie Bame material : 
these two outliers forming an ea^it and we«t Hue with the 
lieiestoue projection at Dev^ilVpoiut, and at the Oregton 
fju^rric^ The soil upon the limestone is abundantly pro- 
ductive, in our moist climate. The roek is not metal liferoui 
in any part of this range. It contains numerous cavities 
lined tn many ca^csp with stalactite of deticate and beautiful 
forms^ In $ome instances they are partly filled with clay; 
mixed upt in a few cases, with hones, havtug the characters 
of diluvial reUques. A greater number cautain water; the 
largest, under the quarries by the Marine barracks, forming 
an immense reservoir of fresh water* into which a stream is 
heard to pour. Sosia particulars of this cavern, with a wood 
eut, may be seen in the Plymouth Herald of June 30, 1827. 
It may be sufficient here to me^tioiif that its extent is such as 
to require a boat for surveying the interior: at pre^nt it is 
inaccessible. 

Hitlierto we have found a tolerably regular disposition of 
the stra^ from tbe granite upwards; farther souths on the 
sides of the harbour, we find the greatest disturbance. 

At Mount BatteB^ the limestone lic^ nearly vertical; in 
some places even overhanging south. The hiJl south of it, la 
mix slate, dipping generally SQUtbwardf ibough in sooio places 



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i 



36 PRIDEAUX-GEOLOQY OF THE 

irr^gfular; and behind, appearing even to dip north-east^ 
under the limestone at Tumchapel. A ridge of dunstone 
rons through it toward St. Nicholas' Island, which is of that 
stone, much disturbed in position ; the predominant dip north- 
ward, unless the strata overhang. The adjoining reef of 
rocks, the bridge, appears to correspond; and as migpht be 
expected, a similar f(N*mation occurs at Mount Edgcumbe; 
where, however the stratification is less disturbed, dipping 
westward of south. The southern part of Mount Edgcumbe 
corresponds with Staddon-heights; bodi running high, to 
nearly the same level; and being alike composed of well 
defined strata of slate, dunstone and red sandstone, mixed 
together and dipping in different directions, and at different 
angles. Flakes of sandstone, on the eastern side, eight inches 
thick, and some yards long, copiously veined with white 
quartz, having slipped off, and lying rolled together, for lOQ 
or 200 yards along the coast. These rolls look, from innu* 
merable cracks on the convex side, as if they had fallen in a 
tough state, from igneous aemifnsion. Such appearances, on 
a smaller scale, occur also at the island; but not on the Mount 
Edgcumbe side. Turning the point into Boveysand-bay, 
there is a projecting ridge of very hard dunstone, over whidi 
the sandstone and slate hang saddlewise. It looks as if it had 
heaved the others, till the strata fell over, as above described ; 
a case not very probable, as the correaponding formation at 
Mount Edgcumbe reaches the same level, without any similar 
appearance. 

In the country behind Staddon^heights, I found stone 
looking like the passage of greywacke into red sandstone; 
but it is so covered with turf, that we cannot trace one into 
tbeoth^« 

South of Boveysand-bay, is red sandstone without much 

admixture; dipping irregularly to the south eastward. A 

.ledge prqjects from this, into the sea, called the Shag-rock. 



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COUNTRY NKAR PLTftlOUTH. 39 

Thk n of white quartz, with streaks and patches of red sand; 
and appears to be a van, hard enough to have resisted the 
encroachments of the sea on its matrix. On the western side 
of the harbour, we find the same sandstmie, occupying Caw- 
sand-bay and the hill behind ; but standing nearly yertical ; 
the strata running south-east and north-west; but diyerging 
a good deal on both sides. The Cawsand-bay sandstone is 
deeper red, and has little carities, some of which are filled 
with white nodules; and the same white substance also yari^ 
^ates and interlines it, in some places, looking not unlike 
mortar. 

The NorAemmost beds of sandstone break into obtuse 
rtiombs, fit for street parity; for which purpose that on the 
eastern side is quarried. 

The coast south of Cawsand-bay, to the Rame-head is 
greywacke date, and greywacke, in very distinct vertical 
strata. In one place where the ends appear, two or three feet 
thick, it looks not unlike columnar basalt, at some distance. 
The Mewstone, on the eastern side, does not correspond with 
this; being coihposedofred sandstone, and a rather gfritty slate, 
full, in some places, of pale greenidi nodules ; perhaps organic 
reliques, for such have been found on that side the harbour, 
both in slate and sandstone. It is equally dissimilar in dip ; 
that of the Mewstone being south by west about 45^. Ilie 
strata are laid open by the sea and weather, in such an extra- 
ordiniury way, that they look as if displayed by art, in tables 
for exhibition. Unlike the exposed heights of Staddon and 
Rame, the face of the Mewstone, corresponding to its dip, is 
by the direct impact of the Sun's rays^ and its lower level, 
covered with luxuriant vegetation, and perfumed, in summer 
by numerous wild flowers. Here these formaticms end: the 
coast on both sides for some miles, east and west, being com- 
posed of slate and sandstone. 



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iOPJ 'i^'.. "TOWn^wav^vi^v^Sipi^PHHI 



49 PRIDBAirX-^SOUQT OF THE 

Sottthwsrd, ne fiyrther diitoitt\^utt the EM^stofte, w^ 
i^pain fi«id the gmmtei^ \v4di a very decided ate^ south westsrly 
dip. Ofie voekvMwbkik standt the I%hi^houMy and that <Mie 
oaij, k gneisa;. dipfu^ leaa ate^ in die sane ditf^elioa : 
thia»iiglaroak of gaeias baitig thaoaly aba I bare heard ^ 
ia England. 

The whole series fiiaaa the old red saadatmM ilpwaid% is 
wanting h«re» Dttuvinm we hava in>a few caves of the liaie* 
stone, as before stated; but no whereon the snr&ca: aUurial 
marsh lands, are extensive and increasing. 

It was observed^ that the hUb of orfxeddaleaiidaEUidslone, 
fimning StaddcmJieighlfl and Mo««l Edgcnmbe,. though irr6» 
g^lar in formation, and a mile apait, reach the same leveL 
The same may be observed of the limestone, which, though 
intersected in sevend' plaoesi £Nrms a tidga from Mount Wise 
to the OrestoQ quarriesyalmest as level as the top of a wall. 

The limestone halls have a gentle ascent on the iiortiieni 

side and dip steep to the southward ; the position of the slate 

and gi^ywacke hills is the reverie of this: the. gi^y^mcke 

often showing its place by a ridge along the hill. Except the 

' limestone, the whole country rises gradually toward the granite. 

The principal water cefwses^ the TaBMttwTairy and Plym» 
cannot be taken as indieatioiMi of die general directian of the 
vidleys. Amongst the greatest inregnlarity, east and west, 
corresponding with the goiaval run <^ tbe strata, have the 
predomiaance. And if the lUHrtb and aouth valleys pf the 
Plym and Tavy, be principally, and that of the Tamaf paru 
tially,^ the eflBect of heavy cuvrents^ at» or prior to, the geiMsnd 
deluge; some of the smaller valleys in that direction, are 
original ; the strata lying in difievent poakioas, on the opposite 
sides. That of the Compton brook may serve as a fiuniliar 
example. 



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CXyUKtKY imAB PLYUDUTH. 



41 



CATALOGUE OF^GEOLOGtCAL SPECIMENS, fllOM 
THE ROCICS ABOM ^lilfrfo^tH. 



Ji Granites of Dartmoor^ &c. 
I CwmongtmaU 
% Tmef ditto 

Itaytoi' ateA Gabtdek 
aBed dHtt) 

Trowlsworthy &c. 

4 Compact ditto 
Pen-beacon (south) 

5 Granite. Bed of the Erme 



Dip (of gf^ter cleavage) variable: 
gen^nlly MUthWard of East 
Metalliferous. 

^Mountainous; vegetatioiv scanty; 
no wood. ' 

I A crag usudlty projects at the sum- 
mit ; and often at the sides. 



(fiarther ddutli) 

B Kocks bordering the grailite of Dartmoor. 

*^ip unctHaia: F>riia|B totith by 
m east, or more east : and if so un- 
> derlying the granite. . High 
% mountain; vegetation scaniy. 
J Ctig^ sttHihii. 

Dip variable, and difficult to deter- 



1 Horn-blende rock 
Cockstor, &c. 



2 YflBPietiesof scborlroclQ 
Robopcnag^^ kC0 &cw 



mine — Metalliferous— Hilly— 
i^ummits bfeak and rather bare— 
Valleys and hills sides clothed 
with* c6ppicie — Soil often deepish* 

3 Qiiirte tfooky wilb ^ywtxnriit ^Ca^h'' of minelf^^MMlliferdus. 
•» da^bte. y A«ri6tiltanlfchanBt»8 as B 2. 

'\ Quantity exposed small, generally 
Haijrlor^ reposing on the granite; but 
^ having some appeaninoe <4 un- 
j derlying Shaugh«tor. 



4 Mkai^eottfi date. 



5 IficMSeras, f^H^amg into 
clayslate. Cotehela. 



I Dip south east : appearing to rest 
aglJWI fLMm^A^am^ in 
(Cornwall — Hifly<^Fe9iil6 ; co- 
vered with fine wood. 



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42 



FRIDBAUX— GEOIiOGT OF THE 



Claydate. 
MorweH-down &c« &c. 



I 



Dip genenDy soath — ^MetaDiferoof 
Hilly — Agriottltoral character 
rather more fiivorable than B 2. 



^ Dip right awaj from the granite; 
7 Compact claydate. Killaa. 1 ^„ ^^^ j^ ^p^^ ^^^ ^^^ 

(Greywacke) borderingC Uferous? Hilly; but less so than 

themoorforanexten8i.eC the above-Ertremely fertile- 

"^ Wood remarkably fine and rich. 



range. 

8 Ribband jagper* 
Ivybridge &c. 



\ 



The edge ofclayslate, in contact 
^ith trapp. 



C Rocks (primitive) not in contact with the granite. 



Fine clay slate. 
Cann-quarry, &c* 



} 



Dip south — Hilly — Sides and snm- 
mits covered with copse, or fine 
wood. 



Granitoid porphyry 

Walkhampton, Grenofen^ 
&c. ^ 



'\ Dip abont sooth by east? reposing 



Porphyry, with base of 
compact mica, or clay«t 
stone. Roborongh. 



on slate — appears to form Gren- 
ofen hill, whidi is fertile and 
wen wooded. 

I Dip diflbmit to determine, probably 
eastward of south — ^Reposes on 
slate— MetaOiferotts. 



Felspar rock /^ Narrow beds running thioogh the 

Rail-road, near Faiicyy>- shUe; exhibiting no distinotire 
CoUard, Blatchford &cS agricultural characters. 

^Dip not plain ; connected with slate. 
Greenstone f Appears to form the fertile hill of 

Rail-road ^ Rock and Estover estates — ^well 

J wooded. 

6 Finer greenstonOi daly; ^CSiaraoters as C4; passing into 
■^^v^e place y Oayslate. 



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COUNTRY NEAR PLTlfOUTH. 



48 



D Greywacke fonnation, up to the limestone. 



Compact grejrwacke 
ManacIo0-hill, S willy Slc 

Granular greywacke 
Mount Tamar, 
Crabtree &c. 



Greywacke fitate; 
between the greywacke,/ 
and IJmestoae 



"Y Dip not ttatially diettnct ; where 
visible^ south — Reposing gpon 
elate— Forms a range of higli 
ground, running north and south 
from Knackersknowle lo Towns- 
end-bilt ; and from SwiZly, west^ 
many miles eastward — Highly 
fertile and well wooded — Not 
metalHferoua, 

^Dip south; repoaing on D Z^ — 
Forms LipsoD-hJIl, Norlhill, and 
alt that line east and wesU Rather 
retentive of damp; but suffici- 
ently fertile. 



4 Siliceoua Slate 

6 Rude porphyry 

6 Micaceous greywacke? 



j Dip south \ reposing on greywaeke 
J slate ; forming Warleigh-tor, 

^ Detached roek, near St, Budeaux. 
y Dip south east. 



A small bed, a little south of the 

above: dip south — Soil fertile. 



RoekB of the shore. 



2 
3 



Limestone, with corallite 

Btc. 
Ditto with u&ivalve shells ^ 
Ditto with bivalve 



Greywacke 
Drake's Island 



Dip not quite Qniform; generally 
south — HeposcH on greywacke 
slate, with which it alternalej^, 
north, as it does south, with red 
sandstone, which lie^ above it. 
Forms a sea t>oundary of low 
hill co^rercd with a fertile soil; 
but thia and subject to parch in 
summer Not metalliferous- 

? Dip quite irregular, and apparently 
1 disturbed : yielding lo the weather' 



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44 



FRlDSLA^UL-fOBOLOar QT ISE 



6 



Greywacke 
Boyeysand Bay 

Ditto paising into red 
sandstone. 



I 



l>ip UAoartain; ipipwring thrast 
up from beneath; and to have 
heaved the red sandstone strata 
saddlewise. 

^Ljttle exposed; dip variable and 
V irregular: apparently disturbed 
J by heaving froo^ beneath* 



7 Red sandstone, coinpact, 

Mount Edgcumbe and 
Sta4donmbeigbta 

8 Ditto porous 

Cawsand Bay 



Greywacke slate 
Jenny CKff» Mewstone,^ 
Peoke ai»d BMl^ 



10 Roc^k quartz; Andum 
point to the Shagstone 



Dip irregulac, oAea vestisal in 
Cawsand-bay^ where it is inter- 
lined with white sandstone, look- 
ing like mortar. The coarse of 
the beds also irregular; bat hav- 
ing a prevailing tendency soath 
east^-^ble is generally intermix- 
ed with ih 

^Dip, at Jenny Cliff and Mewstone 
south west — ^at Penlee, it is ver- 
tical — ^that at Jenny Cliff and 
the Mewstone is intermixed with 
sandstone. 

I A broad vein of oompaot quartz, 
ruDmng thtoag^ the redsMMistone 
and having resisted the encroach- 
mamtaof the sea on its matrix. 



Gneiss 

House rock 



2 
3 



Rocks of the Eddystone. 

A single rock, probably 200 feet 
squufr; I bdieva the oaly gneiss 
in Enghind. Dip, sootltwest. 

^ Dip south west. The rocfa near- 
Ditto, passing into granitef est the gneiss contain the largest 
Granite C proportion of felspar; and have 

the most hminar texture. 



r 






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II. 



BXPERmEBrrAL INWIRIEA CONCERNING THE LAWS 
OF ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONf , BY MR. Tf. S. HARRIS, 
MEMBER OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 



1. TacpecRlittrariaayeiafliitaf wmmadamdmA nBJiiilaiuJ 
condhiclcr csonpiiicd in Ik consleiMiiiai ot flie L&yini 
Jaf , iffeus cakulatecl te dgrri up8» iir a miiActaty way, 
many iiinMiir— t prop«rlie» cf ctort ck a i octjaifc; it Kaa conw^ 
quently undergone^ at Farinufi periods, ao mndi investigatioiiy 
thai it winM aeeu dUAcolt to gimany aerir mtertat to 
iii tkis^iataroifeiag dif itmoul of seieMe; hmA after a lo^ 
atfiea af okavtatioB md espenment, cartAiUy tomparail 
wiA AepvaaeiiladTaiiceAfliaie'of a«r iafarniatioB^ I am lad 
lobciiefo, tfiatthe ftlknriap'paqpart will, he- found «a oontoin 
some new and important facts, whiek appear hidierto to have 
escaped observation ; and, I may therefore hope, that it wOI 
not he donned watmmbiff e£ the Sooioly'a jaHtentiaiu 



ItmaynotbeimprafieporuRiitanBatuJig^ beftrel pvacaed 
more immediately to thaieRfevimtatal h^piiiies^ wfakkare the 
subject of this paper, to give a sort of general account of the 



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4& MR. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

i^paratus employed in the conrseof them, it being for the most 
part new, and so constructed as to insure as fiur as possible 
much precision, leaving more minute details to the acc(»n- 
panying drawings* 

2. The electrical machine, fig. 1, consists of a circular 
plate of glass, three feet in diameter, mounted on an axis, 
between two horizontal supporters of mahogany ; these are sus« 
tained by four vertical columns, of the same wood, fixed on a 
firm base. The rubbers are insulated on pillars of glass, (a) 
(&) and are placed ateach extranity of a horizontal diameter 
of the plate. The positive conductor (c b d) projects in a ver- 
tical position, in front of the plate ; whilst the negative conductor 
(a e&) passes in a curvilinear direction behind it and connects the 
rubbers of each side. The whole machine is sustained by four 
sh<Nrt legs, (mnop) on a steady firame, (no) furnished with 
rollers; and also with tiuree levelling screws, (A o />) so that it 
may be easOy moved into any required position ; and may be 
ev^itnally so adjusted and fixed, that the axis of the plate, 
which has firee motion backwards and fcnrwards in the holes, 
in which it turns, may not tend more to one side than the 
othOT, and produce an unequal action <m the rubben. 



The plate is turned by means of an insulated handle, 
mediately in front of which, there is a short index, fixed in the 
axis, which travds over a divided circle, (I) attached to tiie 
horizontal part of the frame, and through the centre of which 
the axis passes; thus, the number of revolutions of the plate 
may be Accurately estimated. . 

The centre of the plate, is strengthened by two smaller 
plates of glass, cemented to each side by varnish; and there is 
a small stop mserted into the axis, to prevent tiie pressure 
firom increasing beyond a certain point 

The conductors, when the machine is employed^ to accumu^ 



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ELBCTRICAL AOCUBfULATlOtS. 47 

late a charge, are of aB nnall an extent as possible, and are 
coreredf except at the recdying points, with sealing wax. 
The positiTe conductor being in this case constructed of small 
stnught tubes, as represented in fig^ 2; and its extr^nities 
terminate in balls of Tarnished wood, through the substance 
of which the necessary metallic communications pass.* 

3» The requisite accumulation is obtained by means of 
coated jars, which are employed either detached or col- 
lectiyely ; they are not furnished with covers, but the charge 
isccmreyed directly to the bottom of each jar, by means of 
copper tubes, three-eights of an inch in diameter; these 
terminate above in balls of baked wood, and are supported 
bdow by a convenient foot, firmly canented to the bottom of 
Ilie jar; which is previously covered with a circle of pasted 
paper, leaving a caitral portion of the coating firee, for llie 
p^ect contact of the charging rod, which passes through the 
c»ter of the foot, as indicated by the dotted lines in fig. 1. 

These jars, when employed either separately <Nr collectively, 
are placed <m a conducting base, sustained by sh<Nrt columns 
of glass, or some other insulating substance, so that the whde 

^ TUs msohliie wis oomtnieted In the year 1994 ; I had prefioady 
•aea one on a dnllar prindple, by Mr. Ksgiand, a Snrgieal MeduadcUn of 
ooBsiderable ability, retimng in Poland-«treet» London. In Mr. England's 
madiine, ibe tame frame which sostains the plate also oarrlet the nibbers in 
the nsoal away, bnt it is thrown into a horizontal position, the whole b^ng 
insalated and svpportad by Ibv long glass oofamms. The negatiye eondoctor 
passes in front vnder one of the arms of the positiTe oolkdnctor. 

Mr. Bagland*s maofainehM very great power, and is an immense tmproTe- 
■Mnt on those of the ordhiary kfaid. The great adrantage obtained by the 
present arrangement, b stability ; the requisite insulating piUars being relieTod 
from the weight and straining ofthe ftvned plate, when in aetlon; the eondoo- 
tors are adrantageoosly placed, and the axis of the plate can be aoenrately 
a^ivsted, wU^ is of great importance in obtaining a steady and equal ez« 

citatloo. The whole airaagMMBl win be fdvidTerydaalrablt and extremely 

eoonolMilapncliee. 



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mmmmmmmm 



48 MR. HARftlS ON 9flB LAWS OF 

can be insulatod when required}* mdfbr the (mrpoie of allow** 
ing them to be charged and discharged with ptetiAian ; Aey 
are comiected with what may be considered as tfWo centres of 
action ;--4he first of Aese conmts of a brass ball, ^Oj Jigs. 
3. 14. 16) which slides wiA friction on a metallic tt>d, (cd) so 
as to admit of its beings adjusted to any required dtitude; it 
it has a number of small holes, drilled in its circumference for 
reeeivmg the points of the eonnectmg rdds of the Jars^^^The 
rod wlneh sustains this ball, w dther insulated on a separate 
foot, and conneoled with the conductor of the machhie, as in 
Jtff. W; or is otiherwise inserted dfrecfly into it, as in Jigt. 14* 
The second centre, consists of a laryer bait of metal, fbj 
attached ia a firm toot, and placed ott the same conduetii^ 
base with the jiirs^ seastohaire apcfrfect connection wKhit. 
Ihe wire {nh Jiff. 14) employed to transmit Ate explosion, 
Iwmmates hi Ais biM* 

When it it required to gitv the first centre i^ action 
fa) fig. 3. a separate insulation, the insulating rod of 
glmm i» screwed immediatdy into the lower bdF; (h) and 
emtaiBs thenetidlie rod above described, hf Ae inteft^cMion 
of a bi^l ef balced weed, («f) as seen in Jigt. 9 and 16; 
the opposite extremity of the rod terminates in a similar ball, 
^c) tfarei^^ the substance 0( which, Ate conducting communis 
cathm with the machine passes when it is placed on a separate 
foot. All the metallic connections are covered witk sealing 
wax, except at the points of junction; and the wood balls and 
diffepejit inaulationeare'eavefidly varnished*. 

4. T^trnisniittlieexplosnnti^ any requfrisd period, two 
diflferent methods were employed, according to the circum- 
stances of the experiment— Bi the first, the discharge is 
effected by means, of the instEument sepresMted in fig^ ir 
There axe two* halls of bow («> (b)t placed cm m0t ikt 

* RoBin or brimitone answers Terywdl for this porpose; tfie latter is 
easnymoaldedto any eo&Tenieiit form, liy pouring It inaititeof Aisioninto 
commoQ drinking gUsses. 



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SLBCTRICAL ACCUMULATIOIfS. 49 

Other about three inches apart — ^The lower one, (b) is insulated 
and is connected with the positive side of the jar or battery ; 
and the upper one» (a) with the negative side through the 
centres of action before described. (3) The ball (a Jig. 4) 
connected with the n^^ve centre, is attached to a rod of 
brass, (<f ) which falls freely through a smaller ball, (e) when 
allowed to do so. It is preserved at a given distance by a 
curved and finely pointed brass wire, (n c cf ) inserted into 
it; this wire being moveable about a centre (atii) can, by 
means of a glass handle, be readily disengaged; and thus 
the upp^ ball (a) is allowed to descend on the ball beneath 
it, by which the accumulation is always transmitted in a certain 
and invariable way, and without leaving any residuum in 
the battery, 

5» In the second method, the charge is allowed to 
proceed until it c^n break through a known interval; to 
measure which, a discharging electrometer is employed, Jig. 5 
on the principle first proposed by Mr. Lane, and described 
in vol. 61 of the Transactions of the Royal Society — ^the 
interval between the balls (a and &) being adjusted by a screw 
and index, the moticm of which last is shewn by a graduated 
circle; (en) thus the interval may be regelated with very 
great precision: the connexion with the opposite sides of the 
jar are made through the two centres of action, as in the pro- 
ceeding case. 

This discharg^ing electrcxmeter is also occasionally used 
in its more ordinary and simple form^ as represented in^^. 7; 
the only differ^ce being that the insulating portion (c d) 
terminates in balls of varnished wood, one of which (c) sustains 
it, whilst the oth^ (d) contains the tube, through which the 
graduated metallic slide passes: there is likewise an additional 
]^'> (^) placed in the charging rod, from which the jar dis« 
charges itself. 

G 



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50 ME. HAERB ON THB LAWS OF 

U For the purpose of investigating d»$ operation <f( flie 
tittractive force of die accumulation, and di6 law o'f its aldtiom 
under different conditions, I availed mjself of a JteKcate and 
accurate balance, in the following manner:-^ 

The beam (m njig. 6) is sustained in the requite<]f positioti, 
between two vertical rods of glass; (c) (rf) a <jovered wire in- 
dicated by the dotted line, (ef) passes through one oi these 
and connects it with ihe negative coating. From one of the 
arms, (m) k hollow gilded ball of wood, (a) is suspended hf 
a metallic ihiread; this ball is about two in^h^ in didBnete^^ 
and weighs about 160 grains. From the opposite arm, isj^iis^ 
pended a light brass pan, (^p) by nieans of silk lines m the 
usual way — in this pan, is placed as much additidmU weight 
as is requisite to balance the ball just mentioned ; and to put 
the whole mass in a state -of equQibriuibi. Hie Attractive foit^ 
of the accumulation, is caused to act directly oh the dtispended 
ball (d) by means of an insuiieited ball of brass, (6) o^ the same 
dimensions, which is fixed directly tindcr it, and is connected 
with the positive coating: it is isd ptiiced, thai it dm be 
depressed from cohtact with the siispehded ball, through given 
distances, by means of a cylindrical slide, (r) to which it id 
ahached, and a socket (Q ; the slide (r) has a scale engraved 
on it, divided into twentieths of an inch, and Js supported on 
a glass paiar, fey means of a varnished ball of baked wood, 
in which the socket is fixed, and through which thie connection 
with the positive coating passes. 

It will be immediately perceived, that ita this arrangement 
the attractive force acts directly between the balls, ia)(b) 
and it can therefore be measured undelr any given condition, 
by weights, placed in the pan, {p) suspended from the 
opposite arm of the beam. The pan is allowed to rest on 
a small circular suppoH, (9) the elevation of which can be 
changed so as to accommodate it to the horizontal position of the 
beam, and check any oscillation: £here if also asmall stop, (#) 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 6J 

inserted iato this ataskd, which projects over the pan, and pre- 
vents the further descent of the bean), alBter the equilibrium 
48 destroyed ; without which, the explosion would pass,, and 
destroy the gilding of the ball. 

7. Lastly, to measure the effect of a given accumulation, 
an electrometer yf^ ^ployed, represented hj^g. 8 : it is very 
wnpleinits e(m3ti:uotion, being little more than an air ther- 
mometer, having a metallic wire passed air tight through ita 
bulb ; it consists of a glass tube, (a b c) whose interior diameter 
is somewhat less than the tenth of an inch ; one of its extremi- 
ties is bent upwards and outwards for about two inche^ and 
is united l>y.weldii](g to aglaiss.cup, at C^;, which is of a ha^ 
diameter and contains some coloured spirit: the bulb (m^) 
iaal>out<three.inch|es.in dianiQter,. and ^ith its transverse wi^e 
aboye jnen^oned is j^crewed air 4ight upon this ^cup. The 
opposite leg pf.thet^be is ^ust^ed by a graduated scale, 
Qib) fixed. on. a conv^nieiit bsise, (b) ax^d the point ^t which 
the fluid rests is marked zero. When an electrical e]iplosion 
is passed through the wire, the fluid will be observed to ascend 
. alwg.the sc^h. Jhe method of fixing the wire is easy ; two 
.flaiM^ies of l^r^ss, (m n, Jij/. 9) with projecting screws and 
«lwiilder8,,^e,cemeiited in and over the boles drilled through 
the,gl^s%theiirireis;pas9ed directly through thebulb by ^leans 
of coi^respon^ipg holes in, these flanches, and being gently put 
OB the stretch, is secured by short metallic or wpod pegs, by 
^wfiich it is sUghtly.eompressed apd retained in its situation. 
When metallic pegs are ^sed it is necessary r to have a small 
longitudinal notch cut in thenu Both the pegs and extremities 
of the whre projett a little for the convenience of removal ; and 
fikrm wkm of varkras kinds, and ^ different diameters, may 
be easily substituted.* The whole is finally rendered air t^ht 
by means of small balls of brass, which are made flat at one 
extremity, and screwed on the projecting parts of the flanches, 
Afpmat a collar of leather as shewn in ^g. 9. 

* See Trtnsactioiis of the Royal Society, for 16i7, pt. i. p. 18. 



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52 MR. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

The metal best suited for measuring the force of an explo^ 
sion in this way, is platinum; it is easily acted on, and not 
liable to oxidation* The wire may vary in diameter, between 
the 50th and 150th of an inch, according to the circumstances 
of the experiment. This method of estimating the effects of 
electrical explosions by their action on metals, will be found 
very convenient, and it is susceptible of much greater accu- 
racy than the ordinary means by the fusion of metallic wire, 
which appears to be somewhat uncertain and precarious, when 
reduced to practice. * 

9. In the detail of these inquiries, concerning the laws of 
electrical accumulations, our attention will be directed; — 
1 — to the quantity of matter accumulated* 2 — to the in- 
tensity, or free action of the accumulation* 3 — to the 
extent and disposition of the surface, on which the matter has 
been distributed* 4 — ^to the effects of the explosion: the 
quantity of matter, the surface and the intensity, being varied 
according to certain conditions* t 

10* The relative quantity of matter may be measured by 
the revolutions of the electrical machine, employed to produce 
the accumulation; for if one revolution produces one quantity, 
as it assuredly does, then two revolutions should produce 
double that quantity, and so on, supposing the machine to be 
in good and uniform action, during the given time; but the 
precise manner in which a charge thus accumulates, not having 
been clearly determined, it is necessary to demonstrate, by 

* Cpthberteon*! Pradieal Etoctridty, p. 186* 

f The immedUte cause of eleetrloel phanoBMna, miift be eonsidered 
as an agent of a peculiar kind, and if material, dilMng eiieptially from the 
nsnal fonns of matter. The hypothesis of materiality, has only been assumed 
that we may be the better enabled to connect the results of eiperiment, and 
reason on them ;— the only legitimate end for which hypothesis is at all ad- 
missible ; whether electrical agency be material, or tto in the ordinary icceptatioB 
of the word, I do not presume to determine. 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 53 

experiment, that an artificial electrical accumulation, on a 
coated surfaee, may be supposed to proceed, by equal incre- 
ments* 

There are however, a few previous experiments, requisite 
to be detailed, because they seem to constitute the basis on 
which the above conclusion rests. * 

Exp. 1. (^fig. 10) A jar, (a) containing five square 
feet of coated surfece, being insulated ; its inner coating was 
connected with the positive conductor, and its outer coating 
with the negative conductor. The discharging electrometer, 
fig. 7, was attached to the jar, and the dntance between the 
balls, set to an interval of thre^^nihs of an inch. In order 
to estimate the effects of the explosion, the negative ball was 
connected with the outer coating, through the electrometer, 
before described; (J^* 8) which last, was also carefully 
insulated. When three turns and three quarters of the plate 
were completed, the explosion took place, between the- balls, 
and passmg dirough the wire, elevated the fluid, nine degrees 
of the scale. 

Exp. 2. The outer coating of the jar, being connected with 
the ground instead of with the negative conductor, the same 
result was obtained; the fluid was again elevated nine de* 
grees, and with the same number of turns of the plate. 

Exp. 8. The outer coating of the jar, (a^ being joined 



* It mfty not be improper to state, that In the course of these inquiries, it 
has bemi thought desirable to submit to a rigorous examination, some few phe- 
nomena, in the sdence of eleetridty, already known, but which, neyertheless, 
do not appear to hare undergone a very severe scrutiny, by experiment ; not 
only because this constituted a necessary step in the investigation, but because 
it seemed more satisfMtory to apply the same method of demonstration to 
fitcts which have been admitted, as wu resorted to for the purpose of farther 
research. 



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54 MB. HARRIS ON TH^ LAWS OF 

to the iimer coating ef a second and perfectly similar jar,* (B) 
and the connection with the negative conductor, or with the 
ground, completed through the outer coating of this last, 
the machine was again put in action* — ^The explosion again 
passed at the end of the same mmiber of turns, and again 
elevated the Auid nine degrees. This arrangement is repre- 
sented in Jig. 11 ; except, that Ae electrometers must be 
supposed to remain with the insulated jar, as seen in fig. 10. 

Exp* 4. (fig. 11) The matter which had accumulated in 
the second jar, (b) frcmi the.outer.coating of the first jar, (a) 
being discharged; the electrometers, were transferred to this 
Jast, in order to ascertainof the accumulation in (b) was pre- 
cisely similar to that which ^ook place in the first jar (a). 
The machine being put in action, die .explosion again passed 
at the end of the same number of turns, and again elevated 
the fluid, nine d^ees as before. 

£xp* 6. (fig. 12) The electrometers, being again trans-^ 
ferredto the jar, fxj as in exp* 1. fig. 10; die second jar, 
fBj was also insulated, and its inner coating connected with the 
negative conductor; the outer coatings of the two jars being 
joined by a metallic rod (m). Under these circomstances, die 
explosion again occured, at the .end of die^sapie number of 
. turns, and with the same ^e^ as before*. 

Exp* 6. Lastly, the electrometers being transferred to 
the jar, fs) charged -from the negative .conductor; the 
machine was again put in action : die discharge again passed 
as in the preceding cases, and again raised the fluid nine 
degrees of the scale. I repeated these experiments with jars. 



* By a perfectly similar jar, Is to be nndentood^ a jar wUch iffll explode 
oyer a giyen interral with the same number of roTolntioiis of the plate, and 
cause the fluid to ascend along the scale of the electrometer, Jiff, S, the same 
number of degrees. 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 55 

mot preciflely mimlar; by alfeniating tbein, and taking the 
mean resuhs, tmd anitred at the same conelusions. 

11, We may therefore infer: 1 — that preeijsely the i^iiio 
charge accnmutates on a coated snri a C€*; whether we imppo^ii^ 
the oppf^ite coating to be insulated and connected with one of 
the coiiductorft of the machine, or whether it be in a freely 
uninsulated state^ or otheni'be, whether it operate throxigfh an 
intervening jar, 2 — that the charge conveyed to an interven- 
ing' and similar jar, is precisely equal to the charge convej iif 
to the first jar^ in connexion with the conductor of the maebiiie. 

12. The*!e experniaehfa Wing premised, ire pfk^ on to tlie 
more inmiedtate object of this part of the inquiry. (10) 

i 

£xp. 7, The jars and electrometers being arranged, oa 
in ^fjf. 1 1 1 the explo3?ion a^in posset! at h^mewfaat legs than 
four turns of the plate, and again raised the fl aid nine degree?!, 
as in exp, 4. The «imall residuum in the jar, (b) being dis- 
charged, the machine was ^;ain put in action ; — the first jar, 
(a) connected with the conductor, remaining charged with 
the previous accumulation; when the same number of hims 
had been completed* the jar (n) discharged again^ and with 
precisely the same effect 00 the wire as before. 

Exp, 8. (fig* 13) A small jar, fh) containing ahtmt 
a square foot, and two^tenths, of coated surface, being sub- 
stituted for the jar (n), the eispIosioD took place, at about 
each turn of the plate, until the jar (A) became fully charged. 
Now in these instances, the jars, (b,) (by being charged 
fromtheouter coating of the insulated jar, (a) their ex plo. 
sions became a fair measure of the relative quantiticfi of 
matter, communicated by the machine. fExp^ 3 and 4^ and 
as these explosions corr^ond in each case to equal numtjern 
of revolutions, whilst the receiving jar, (a) was charging 
in any degree short of saturation, it followst that the accu» 




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06 MR. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

mulation in (A,y must have proceeded by equal increments; 
and consequently, that equal quantities of matter were thrown 
on at each turn. 

Exp. 9. In order to ascertain if these explosions would 
take place in a similar way, when two or more jars, were 
substituted for the jar (a.) The experiment was arranged, 
as represented in fig. 16; the jars and electrometers being 
carefully insulated — the result however remained the same ; 
the small jar discharged as before, and in precisely the 
same way. The explosions of a second jar, therefore, in con- 
nexion with the opposite coating of a charging surface, 
whether in a divided or undivided state, may be also considered 
as a fair measure, of the relative quantities of matter accumu« 
lated. 

Exp. 10. (fig. 12). Two equal and similar jars, (a) (b) 
were insulated, and connected, one with the n^ative, and 
the other with the positive conductor, as in exp. 6; — the 
outer coatings being joined by a metallic rod (mj. In this case, 
as much matter as was conveyed into the positive jar, (a) 
was evidently taken from the negative jar, (b) and recipro- 
cally. The effects of the ^accumulation in either system, 
estimated as before, at g^ven intervals, were precisely the same, 
and corresponded to an equal number of turns of the plate: 
consequently, the respective quantities which continued to 
accumulate in the opposite system after eadi discharge, must 
have been alcto precisely similar. 

13. These experiniMts rdate to quantity ; and thay evi- 
dently shew : 1 — that equal quantities are given off at 
each revolution of the pl«|e, (if in a state of uniform action,) 
whether to 4m u$u^arged iutfacCf or to a surjhce charged in 
amy degree short qf saiuraiiam. 2 — that a coated surface, 
charging in any d^^ee short of saturation, receives equal 
quantities, in equal times; all other things remaining the 



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ELECtniCAL ACCUMULATIOm. 57 

Sftine-^whence, it may be inferred, that the mrmber of rerolu- 
tions of the electrical machiae us, under fche above conditio u, a 
fair measure of the relative quantity of matter. 3 — That the 
explosions of a jar, charging from one of the coatingis, are pro* 
portioual to the quantity of matter thrown upon the other»^ 
The quantity of matter may therefore be easily estimated by 
the number of these ejcplosions, 

14. Haring determined these laws, relating to the quantity 
of matter accumulated, we come now to the consideration of 
the free action^ or intensity, it erinc^, under various cireum* 
stances. -^^ - *%» ^t« 

When a given accumulation is disposed on a simple insu* 
la ted conductor, it endeavours to fly off and discharge itself 
upon any body which happens to be within the sphere of its 
action : bnt if the surface of the insulated conductor on which 
tile matter is accumulated be increased, then the tendency to 
discharge is lessened. To express this tendency of the accu- 
mulation to pass off in any given direction, the term intensity 
has been employed^ Intensity therefore is but another term 
for what may he called free action. 

But experience has shewn, that it is possible to contronl the 
free action of a given quantity of electricity, not only by dis- 
posing it on a more extended surface, but also by opposing to 
the insulated conductor, a second conductor of equal aud simi- 
lar extent ; the latter being in a freely unfasulated slate, 
placed parallel and near to the former (fig* If),) and the two 
conducting surfaces separated by some perfectly insulatiDg 
medium* By this peculiar arrangement, the accumulation 
appe^irs to be so determined upon the uninsulated surface^ that 
the tendency to discharge in any other direction is diminlsbed : 
the free action will therefore be more or less controlled, in 
some ratio of the distances of the opposed conductors* 



H 



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58 MR. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

There is howeyer this difference in the actual condition of the 
two arrangements — ^when the matter is disposed and retained 
on a continuous surfacci the whole of that surface is supposed 
to be in the same electrical state; whereas, in the latter in^ 
stancci half the surfece oidy is in a similar state; the opposed 
uninsulated portion being in an opposite one; this seems to be 
a necessary consequence of the subsequent action ; and without 
such effect can ensue, the attractive force between the opposed 
conductors is not found to be so exclusive :-—hence^ it would 
seem, that, by means of the increased capacity of the uninsulated 
conductor, a given accumulation can be retained in this way, 
even with greater faciliQr than on an extended and continuous 
surface. 

It will be immediately pat^eived, that the Leyden jar is 
merely an arrangement of the above description; since one of 
its coatings is perfectly insulated, and placed near and paral- 
lel to the other; the latter being in a freely uninsulated state, 
and the two coatings separated by an insulating and resisting 
medium. 

15, Ktherefore two conductors (a)(5}(fig8»5 6 7) be sepa- 
rated by a g^ven interval, and be connected with the insulated 
and uninsulated coatings, as in figs. 7, 14, 15, then the free 
action may be estimated by means of these conductors ; 1 — ^by 
measuring the interval between them, which it can break 
through. 2 — ^by measuring its attractive force or tendency 
to discharge, both of which will increase in some direct ratio 
of the quantity of matter, and in some inverse ratio of the 
controlling power of the uninsulated coating ; all other tlungs 
remaining the same. 

16. The farmer of these m^ods will be first considered : 
and for which purpose we shall refer to the exploding electro- 
meters above described, (5) and represented figs, 6 and 7. 



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ELBCTRICAC ACCtJMULATlOm; 09 

' Exp* 10; Two similarjai^ each containing fire Bqiiare feet 
of surface, being connected with the discharging electrome^ 
ter, (fig. 5) and wilh the positiye condnctor as represented 
m fig. 14 and the interral between the balls adjusted to* 
one-tenth of an inch, the discharge took place at dte end* 
of two turns and half of the plate» The interral between the* 
balls being now doubled, and the small residuum in the janr 
neutralised, the disdiarge passed wlmi five turns w^e com- 
pleted. The interval being increased to tfaree*lenths of an 
inch, or treble the first distance, and the residuum discharged 
as before; the explosion passed at the end of seren turns and 
half of the plate. On increasing tfie interval to four-tenthi of' 
an inch, the discharge took place at the end often turns. 

Exp« II. One of the jai^ in the fotmer experiment being 
removed^ and die interval between the balb acQusted to four- 
tenths of an inch, the discharge took place with five turns of 
the plate. The quantity of coated surface being now doubled' 
by adding a second and similar jar, and die interval between 
the balls dnninished to two-tenths of an inch, the discharge 
again took place at the end of five turns. The quantity of 
coated surface being again doubled by adding two more equal 
and similar jars, and the interval between the balls reduced 
toone4with of an inch^ or to aquarter part of the first distance, 
the discharge agam occurred at the ead of five turns of the 
plate. 

Exp. 12. A smgle jar being connected as before^ and 
the interval between the balls a^fusted to two-tenths of an 
inch, the discharge occurred at the end of two turns and half. 
A second similar jar being added, the discharge occurred with 
five turns of the plate. A third similar jar being added, seven 
turns and half were required to complete the discharge: the 
interval between the balls remaining in each case the same. 

Exp. 13. Two similar jars being connected with the 



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^ MS. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

qondvetor, mid the interval between the balk ac^usted to two- 
tenths of an inch, the discharge took place with five turns of 
the place. One of the jars, that is half the sor&ce, being 
remoYod, and the intoral between the balls qoadrupled, the 
discbarge occurred with ten turns of die plate, or double the 
former. 

These results as far as I could ascertain, did not appear 
to be influ^iced by the way in which the surface was disposed; 
thus whether the exte^nt of surfiu^ was made up with separate 
jars, or otherwise oonsiited of one large jar, stiU the same 
results were obtained, provided the areas of the coatings were 
accurately Bi^yasted^ and that the thickness of the glass did nf>t 
vary.* 

17. We may therefore ccmdude, that the free action of an 
electrical accumulation, as estimated by the interval it can 
bre^ Arough, is directly proportional to the quantity of 
matter ; (exp. 10) and inversely proportional to the surface, 
(exp. 1 1.) If therefore we increase the matter and the surface 
hi the same ratio, the interval remains the same ; (exp. 12)— 
and if we represent the quantity of matter by q, the interval by 
1, and the surface by s, we obtain by exps. 10 and 11, the fol- 

Q 

lowing expression i CL — from which we get q OC s i; and 

s 

thus derive another means of estimating the relative quantity 
of matter thrown upon a given surface, supposing the surface 
to be either in a divided or undivided state, and all other things 
remaming the same. Hence, if the sur&ce be constant, the 
quantity accumulated is as the interval ; and if the interval 
be constant, it is as the sur&ce; and if as q be increased, s be 
decreased, thra we have i OC Q^ 



* Itwillbeneeeisarytokeepininincly that this relBtet odI j to th* 
free aetian, and it not to be afldmllsled with the eflbots of the ezplotlon on 
netalt under sinUar eonditioiie. (24.) 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 61 

I repeated the above experunentfl^ by iosalating the 
jars and electrometer on ^the principle represented in figs. 13 
and 16» so as to measure the quantity of matter by means of 
the explosions of a jar^ chargii^ from tbe outer coatings ; 
(exp, 9^) and it is not difficult to obtain in this arrangement, 
such a distance between the balls of the exploding jar, fb fig. 
13) as will accurately measure the accumulation corresponding 
to a given explosion of the jar (a) in whidbi the accumulation 
has taken place: and thus by varying the distance between 
the balls of the electrometer connected with the jar a, whilst 
the electrometer attached to the jar i, is preserved the same ; 
we may inv^sMgate the free action as before. 

18. We now con^e to Icondder the second method of in- 
vestigating the law of free action^ as r^^ardi the attractive 
force or tendency to discharge* 

In the application of the instrument described (6) (fig. 6) to 
this purpose, it is desirable, when the distances between the 
conductors {a) (h) require to be varied, that the opposed 
surfaces should be plane and parallel, (fig. 20) so that the 
distance between the attracting points may be every where 
equal; or otherwise, in employing equal spheres, it will be 
essential to deteirmine, in each opposed hemisphere, a fixed 
point, as a and ft, figs. 24 25, from which the sum of all the 
attractions would produce the same effect as if those attractions 
were exerted from every point of the hemispheres : so that 
when the distance between the balls is varied, the interval 
may be reckoned between these points, and not from the ink- 
mediate point of contact.* This point will be found to &11 

* We Bappote bare the forces to set in psrallel linei, which tppean to be 
an essential condition of this species of attraction ; since the opposed snr/koes 
being in equally opposite states of electricity, the reciprocal influence of the 
nearest points most be such as to neutralize each others' action, in relation to any 
other point more distant : the attraotlTe forces therefore between these points 
becomes exdoblTe, tnd cooseqnently, the lines of attraction are parallel, fig. 84, 



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63 MR. HARRIS ON THE UIH^S OF 

within the oppoied hanispheret at adistance equal to one-fiftfr 
of theradius,* 

19. It may be olMienreJ, that in the application of an explodmgf 
electrometer, (fig, 6) this process is not requisite : since the 
explosion always passes from the nearest points, and no others 
the attractire forces from the other parts^ of the balls do not 
consequently interfere with the accuracy of die result ; more 
especially as the balfti are fixed at a g^ven interval, and cannot 
therefore approximate; diis is essentially distinct from die 
case in which we seek to measure the attractive force, by 
opposing to it a known weight, the spheres being moveable, 
since in the last case, we cannot separate the attraction of one 
point from the whole, and mnst therefore take the whole ihto> 
the account. 

* Let M and N (fig. iS) be two hemisphereB, wbose diameterB are 
two inohss, and attracting each other at the distanoes A B A^ B^ Let 
aAz:B& = a, A, =rB, &, = jr letAB=:,5oraQ inch, and 
A^ B, = 1. 4 ; at which distanoes the req>eotive attraoiive foroes were 
found, by eiperiment,. to be as 16 : 4 or 4:1. 

Then4:l ^l (a^ hf i (a bj^ ::(l,4 + 2«)» J (,5 + e*)« 
.*.4 X (.^ + 2x )=:(I.4+ 2x)>firomwhiobwe obtain 
x« + Jj*=,08 

By solving this equation we shall have xz: + • S— >.. 1, and con- 
sequently « = + • 2 of an inch, or a distance equal to otte>fifth of the 
radios; the other value of x being negfUive, and therefore in this case an 
impossibie qoantity. This expression wiD befoond to be true for any two 
eqnaf spheres $ thus, in spheres of three inches diameter, the attraotTve 
foroes were found, by experiment^ to be as 4 1 1, when the respective 
distances AB A, B^were0.5andt.6. In ^heres of I inch diameter, 
theywerea84tl whenAB A,B,were0.5andl.2. Bysabstitnling 
fteseqoantities, in the above eqoation we Aaflhave as before, xeqoal to 
one-fifth of the radius of the respective spheres. It may be flirther re- 
marked, that the same results as in experiment 14 were obtained, when 
the opposed conductors were equal spheres, and the intervals estimated 
from within each hemiqphere, at a distance equal to one-fifth of tberadiok 



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EUECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 63 

Exp. 14 A single jar, oontaining five square feet, being 
connected with the instrument already described ; (6) and the 
connection with the negative coating completed, as represented 
in fig. 15, the insulated conductor b was d^ressed from contact 
with the suspended omductor (a) throng an interval of half 
an inch, and a weight of sixteoi grains placed in the small pan 
suspended firom the opposite arm of the balance.* When five 
turns of the pkte were completed, the attractive force was 
sufficie&fttotipthebeam. The accumulation being discharged, 
the insulated conductor (b) was depressed through asecond in- 
terval of half an inch, making the whole distance one inch. A 
weight of four g^rains or ^ part of the former weight being now 
placed in the pan, the beam was again depressed with five turns 
of the plate: so that the distances being as 2 to 1, the corres- 
pondiiig wei^ts were as 4 : 1* The accumulation being dis- 
charged, and the insulated conductor (b) depressed through 
a third interval of half an inch, and one-ninth part of the first 
weight placed in the pan ; the beam was again depressed with 
five revolutions of the plate. We may therefore infer, that the 
attractwe force b^ween the conductors varied in an inverse 
ratio (ifthe square qf the Stance of the points of contact, 

Exp. 15. The distance between the conductors being ai^usted 
to an interval of an inch, and a weight of four grains placed 
in the pan; the beam was again depressed with^e revolu- 
tions of the plate. The quantity of matter being now doubled, 
that is to say, ten turns of the plate being allowed to accumu- 
late, sixteen grains w^c requisite to balance the attractive 
force: the attractive fiurce therefore, all other things remaining 
the same, increases directly as the square of the quantity of 
matter accmnulated. This became further evident by placing 
a weight of thirty-six grains in the pan: in which case the beam 
was depressed with about fifteen turns of the plate. 



* Tlie pofltioa of Ae tvspsDded eondtoelor («) li cvefldlj tctt^ 
the thrae leielUsg fcrewi Attached to the bate of the Instmaieiit) lo that it nuij 
hang Tertically and pei«M over the lomlated conductor (b). 



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^ MR. HARRI8 ON THE LAWS OF 

20. This result is a necessary coBseqaeiice of the law which 
seems to govern all these forces ; for let two balls be connectied 
with the opposed surfaces, and be separated by any g^ren 
interval, and let the accumulation proceed until the free action 
can pass this interval: cdll the quantity at the time of the 
explosion 1, and the attractive force at the same instant also 1^ 
and let the number of revolutions of the plate necessary to 
produce the accumulation be expressed by n. If we sup« 
pose the interval to be doubled, then the attractive force, all 
other things remaining the same, will be reduced to ^, since 
the force varies in an inverse ratio of the square of the distance 
between the exploding points (exp. 14)— the discharge there- 
fore, with the same quantity of matter, cannot occur at this new 
interval; but we have seen (by exp* 10) that with 2 n turns of 
the machine, that is with double the matter, the explosion will 
again pass at a double interval. If therefore, when thd interval 
between the balls is doubled, we double the matter, the dis- 
charge will again take place ; but in this case, the attractive 
force must necessarily be as great at the greater interval, as it 
was at the lesser interval, without which the explosion could 
not happen, that is to say, it must have increased from ^ to 1 ; 
or if measured at the first interval, it must be equal to 4 ; in 
either case, with double the quantity of matter, it must be four 
times as great, all other things remailiing the same. 

Exp. 16. A weight of 16 grains being placed in the pan, 
add the interval between the balls again adjusted to an inch, 
the beam was again depressed with 10 revolutions of the plate : 
a second equal aad similar' jar being added, that is to say the 
surface being doubled, ten revolutions of the plate were still 
requisite to depress the beam, when only four grains were 
placed in the pan : thus it may be perceived, that the same 
matter, dii^posed on a double surface only, evinces ^ part of 
the free aictioii : the distance between the balls being constant. 
I repeated these experiments, the apparatus being insulated, 
and the quantity of matter measured by the explosions of a 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 21 

«mall jar, charging from the outer coating, as already ex- 
plained, (exps. 8, 9,) and obtained the same results; the 
interval between the balls of the exploding jar, beii^ made 
very small. 

21. We may therefore conclude, 1— that the attractive 
force varies in an inverse ratio of the square of the distance; 
all other things remaining the same. 2 — if the surface be 
constant, and the matter increased, the attractive force is 
directly as the square of the quantity of matter. 3 — ^if the 
matter be constant, and the surface increased, the attractive 
force is in an inverse ratio of the square of the surface. 4 — if 
both the surface and the matter be increased in the same propor- 
tion, the attractive force is constant ; and if we represent the 
attractive force by a, the quantity of matter by Q, and the 
surface by s, we have (exps. 15, 16) the following expression: 

A X gj- from which we deduce q X V as* or <) x s va and 

thus derive other expressions for estimating the relative quan- 
tity of matter; hence if the attractive force be constant, the 
quantity ofmatter is as the surface; and if the surface be con- 
stant, it is as the square root of the attraction ; and if, as q be 
increase, s be decreased, then we have a X Q^ 

The want of a correct knowledge of these laws, has I 
apprehend, occasioned much uncertainty, in the results of 
many electrical inquiries. Thus in employing the well known 
and ingenious balance, or steel-yard electrometer, of Mr. 
Cuthbertson, in which the force of the free action is opposed 
by a known weight ; it has been assumed,* that when the 
slider has been set to 15 and 30, so as to measure separate 
charges, the surface being constant, that the corresponding 

• Cuthbertsim'a Practical Eleclridty, p. 175, 1T8, 170, 180. 



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22 MR. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

accumulations, are in the same ratio, that is to say, as 2:1; 
whereas, in order to obtain a double accumulation, the slider 
should be set to sixty grains, instead of thirty ; since the 
opposing forces should be to each other as 4 : 1. 

22. Having determined the relations which subsist between 
the quantity of matter, and the free action of a charged sur- 
fkce, and shewn how these last may be measured ; we come now 
to investigate the effects of the explosion : the quantities we 
have been considering being varied, according to certain 
conditions. 

Exp. 17. (fig. lOJ A single jar, containing two square 
feet and half of coated surface, being connected with the 
conductors, and widi the electrometers before mentioned, (6) 
(7) and the distance between the balls ac^usted to eight-tenths 
of an inch, the explosion took place with five revolutions of 
the plate, and elevated the fluid eighteen degrees. 

Exp. 18. A jar, contdm'ng five square feet, or double 
the former surface, being substituted for the jar in the last 
experiment, and the distance between the balls adjusted to 
four-tenths of an inch, the explosion again passed with five 
revolutions of the plate, and again elevated the fluid eighteen 
degrees. 

Exp. 19. A second equal and similar jar, being connec- 
ted so as to double the last surface, and the distance between 
the balls diminished to two-tenths of an inch, the discharge 
again passed with five revolutions of the plate, but only 
elevated the fluid to twelve degrees, or about two-thirds of 
the former. 

Exp. 20. The two larger jars being removed, and two 
jars containing each two square feet and half substituted, that 
is to say, half the former surface, divided into two equal and 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 33 

similar parts, and the interval between the balls again increased 
to four-tenths of an inch, the explosion again passed with five 
revolutions of the plate, and again elevated the fluid twelve 
degrees. 

Exp. 21. A series of six jars being selected, differing 
in thickness, and the areas of whose coatings varied from one 
to five square feet; each jar was connected in succession with 
the conductor and electrometers, and two turns of the plate 
thrown on it : the discharge being effected by means of the 
discharging electrometer; (Jig. 4) the fluid was in each case 
elevated to eighteen degrees. * 

^ I repeated these experiments, by insulating the apparatus ; 
the quantity of matter being measured by the explosions of 
ajar, charged from the outer coating, (as in^^. 16;) and the 
discharge effected as in the last experiment, and obtained the 
same results. We may therefore conclude, 1 — that the effect of 
the explosion depends exclusively on the quantity of matter, 
without reference to the free action; (exps. 17, 18, 21.) and, 
2 — that in disposing the same quantity of matter, on the same 
sur&ce, divided into two equal and similar parts, about one 
third of its effect is lost. (exps. 19, 20.) 

23. Exp. 22. A single jar containing five square feet, being 
connected as before, (Jig* 10) and the distance between the balls 
adjusted to two-tenths of an inch, the explosion passed with 
two revolutions and half of the plate, and raised the fluid 
four d^^rees and half of the scale. The small residuum being 
discharged, and the distance between the balls adjusted to 
four-tenths of an inch,, the explosion passed at five revolutions 
of the plate, and raised the fluid eighteen degrees. The dis- 

* In thit last ezperinMpit, it was naoessaiy to employ a moch finer wire, 
than in the preceding cases, in order to render the effect more apparent ; the 
qoantity of matter being small. 



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24 MR. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

tance between the balls being now a(]yu6ted to six-tenths of 
an inch, and the residuum neutralized as before, the discharge 
passed between the seventh and eighth revolution of the plate, 
and raised the fluid to about forty degrees. 

The same results were obtained, by insulating the appara^ 
tus, and measuring the quantity of matter, by means of the 
explosions of a jar, connected with the outer coating. It may 
tJierefore beinferredj that the effects of an electrical explosion 
on a metalHc wire^ all other things remaining the same; is 
JSrecthf as the square of the quantity of matter. 

This law did not appear to be influenced by disposing the 
accumulation on a divided surface ; for although the magni- 
tude of the corresponding effects was reduced, as in exp. 19, 
yet the surface being constant, the subsequent results were 
directly as the square of the quantity of matter. 

24. Having thus found, (23) that the effect of the explosion 
on a metallic wire, is directly as the square of the quantity 
of matter: all other things remaing the same — and (exp. 19) 
that in disposing the same quantity of matter, on the same 
extent of coated surface, divided into two equal and simi- 
lar parts, about one-third of its power is lost; it seems a 
point of some interest, to pursue this investigation a little 
further, in order to ascertain what subsequent decrements in 
the effect take place, by a still greater division of the surfiEU^e ; 
the quantity of matter remaining constant. 

With this view, six jars were selected, each containing 
about a square foot, and four-tenths of coated surface: they 
did not materially differ in their electrical capacities; and 
since the investigation related exclusively to the quantity of 
matter and the surface, the excitation of the machine, was 
tested by an exploding jar, and the quantity of matter measu- 
red, both by means of the revolutions of the plate, and the 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS, gj 

explosioDS of a jar charged frara the outer coatiiigH; the di^ 
charge being effected by me^ms of the di^hargiiig electrometer 
fig, 4. The general arrangement ie represented in fitj^ 16. 

Expi 22; A eiugle jar being connected with the conductor, 
and charged with two revolutions of the plate, the eft^ect on 
the wire wafs observed and aoted. A second jar was now 
examined in a similar way; the r^pective effecLi did not 
greatly vary, but the nii^m result amounted to just sixteen 
degrees. The two jars being now combinedi and the same 
quantity of matter dispo^d on them» the resulting eftect was 
only eleven degrees, the loss being about one third. This* 
procem wiLS repeated, with the same quantity of matter dis-i 
posed on three jars; the mean result of the three, taking each 
separately, being first determined, and then the result of their 
combination^ — in this case^ the loss amounte<] to somewhat less 
than one half — a similar process with four jars, gave a losg 
rather greater than one half — ^witli five jars, it amounted 
to nearly twoahirds, and with six jars to about four-fifths. 
The results are given in the following table, 

TABLE L 



RBTOLDTIONS 


ItimBEB 




OP 


OF 


BrV£CT. 


TB* PL4TI. 


JABS, 




% 


1 


16 


% 


2 


11 


% 


3 


9 


s 


4 


7 


% 


5 


5 


2 


6 


3 



It might therefore be supposed^ that by increasing the 
number of jars^ the effect would at length be reduced to 




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26 



MR. HARRIS OS THB LAWS OF 



zero, and such was found to be the case; for on disposing the 
same matter on a great number of jars, the effect on the wire 
became insoisible. 

25. As a further extension of the preceding investigation, 
the quantity of matter was made to increase as the number of 
jars, and to obviate any error which might be supposed to 
arise from slight differences in the jars, each jar was first 
examined separately, and a mean result obtained; they 
were then combined in pairs, the matter being doubled, then 
each three jars were combined ; the matter being tripled, and 
so on to the last combination, in which the whole six were 
combined ; the matter being six times as great as in the first 
instance. The mean results of each respective series of com-» 
binations are given in the following table. * 

TABLE II. 



BKTOLDTIOMl 


MDMBKR 




or 


OF 


MtWECr. 


TBB PLATR. 


MBS. 




2 


1 


11 


4 


ft 


26 


6 


8 


60 


8 


4 


73 


10 


5 


85 



It is easy to reduce the above results, to the same form as 
in the preceding table, so as to obtain the relative effects of 
the same quantity of matter disposed on a given number of 

* In these ezpehmeots, it became necessary to employ a larger wire in 
the electrometer, than in the preceding, in order to resist ftislon; the 
quantity of matter being greatly increased. 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 



27 



jars; since the effect (23) is directly as the square of the 
quantity of matter. Thus to havfe the effect of the matter 
disposed on two jars, as compared with the same quantity 
disposed on one, we divide the effect on two jars by four : 
to obtain the effect on three jars as compared with the same 
quantity on one, we divided the effect with three jars by 
nine, and so on. The results thus reduced are given in the 
following table ; and it will be observed, that they do not 
considerably differ in their relation to each other, from those 
before obtained, (exp. 22*) Table I. 

TABLE in. 



UTOLOTIOMS 


MDHBBR 




OF 
THB PLATB, 


JAB«. 


BFFBCTS. 


2 


1 


11,0 


2 


2 


6, 5 


2 


3 


5, S 


2 


4 


4, 5 


2 


5 


3, 4 









26. In referring to table II, it may be observed, 
that when the quantity of matter and the number of jars are 
both increased together, the full effect of the respective accu- 
mulations is not obtained ; jsince double the matter disposed 
on two jars, only equals about two and half times the first 
effect, instead of four times, which it should do if disposed on 
one. (23) By disposing three times the quantity of matter 
on three jars, we only obtain about four and half times the 
first effect, instead of 9 times, and so on, untill at last in 
increasing the number of jars, the differences in the respective 
effects become less and less, so that a limit appears to obtain, 
in which the advantage derived from an increased quantity of 



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28 MB« HARRIB ON THE LAWS Of 

matter, becomes neutralized by the opposite effect of the 
increased number of jars* 

These results are very analogous to those arrived at in the 
extensive investigations of Mr. Children with his large voltaic 
battery, in which an intense deflagrating power was obtained 
by accumulating the electric action on as great an extent of 
undivided surface as possible;* and also with those of Sir 
H. Davy,t in which the relative powers of ignition with an- 
extensive voltaic series appeared to decrease after a certain 
limit, beyond which there is a loss of power; which is preci- 
sely what happens when the number of jars and the quantity 
of matter are both increased together, and in the same pro- 
portion. 

27. It may be proper to observe, that the above results 
are somewhat at variance with the conclusions arrived at, in 
Mr. Singer's excellent work on electricity ; he infers, p. 179 
that the same quantity of matter, will fuse the same length 
of wire, whether it be disposed on two jars, or on one : but 
it may be shewn, that in the immediate experiment from which 
this conclusion has been drawn, the quantity of matter greatly 
varied. In the experiment alluded to, eight inches of wire 
had been previously fused, by a single jar, charged to thirty 
grains; it was likewise fused by two jars, charg^ to fifteen 
grains, $ and it is inferred, that the quantity of matt^rwas in 
each case the same; whereas, in the latter instance, it must 
have been greatly increased, for it will be remembered, (15) 
(20) that by the expression charging a single jar, or other- 
wise, two jars to any d^ree, say fifteen or thirty grains, we 
thereby mean, that certain relative measures of the free action 
of the accumulation have been obtained, as indicated by its 
attractive force; the surface on which the matter is disposed 

* ElemenU of Chemical Philosophy, p. 159. t lb. p. IM. 
t Exp. 77, pag« 177. 



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ELBCTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS, 73 

being given. Now it has been shewn, (exp. 16) that suppo- 
sing the same quantity of matter to be disposed on a double 
surface, the intensity or free action, as indicated by its attrac- 
tive force, would be reduced to one quarter; consequently, 
the intensity corresponding to the previous quantity of mat- 
ter on the single jar, would when both jars were employed, 
only amount to seven grains and half; that is to say, to the 
^ one quarter part of thirty grains ; the previous intensity on 
the single jar, supposing the jars to be precisely equal and 
similar. But in the experiment above-mentioned, the intensity 
on the double surface, was double this amount, or fifteen 
grains; therefore the matter accumulated, by a very simple 
calculation, must have been greater than in the previous case 
with the single jar by nearly one half; for the surface bdng 
constant, the quantity is directly as the square root of the 
attractive force. (21) 

It is easy from the preceding investigations, to observe 
the relations which subsist between the interval which the firee 
action can break through, the attractive force it exerts, and 
and the resulting effect of the explosion* For since i OC Q 0^) 
and A QC Q* (^1) and E X Q* (S8) the effect being represented 
by E ; therefore the effect and the attractive force must vary 
together, and each must vary as the square of the interval— all 
other things remaining the same. 

28. It has been my endeavour hitherto, in the course of 
these inquiries, to confine my observations as much as possible 
to matters of plain experimental evidence, in order that they 
might not be embarrassed by theoretical speculations, which 
would be a source of serious objection* I have therefore, 
avoided entering upon any explanation of the curious phaeno- 
mena, that the interval which the free action of an electrical 
accumulation can pass, is directly as the quantity of matter 
accumulated ; (exp. 10) whilst the attractive force is as the 
square of the quantity, (exp. 15.) I have only endeavoured 



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^'^f^tmmmmmtemm^mmmm^^umm^/KBsmsss; 



74 MR. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

to shew, 0iO) * HoBt these phaenom^iaare perfectly consistent 
with each other, and involye no sort of contradiction. A few 
additicmal obserrations conoemingp these laws of electrical 
aotioi^ more especially as relating to-the attractive force of the 
accumulation, may not however, be now altogether out of 
^lace, keeping in view an established principle in experimen- 
tal science^ that we are said to explain any pheenomenon when 
we diew it to be necessarily included in some o(ker pheenome- 
iton, ot fact idrestdy known* 

29. It is reasonable to ii^er, that in every case of duplicate 
proportion, tw6 e^ual and concurrmg causes are present; for 
as observed by the' lefOiied Dr. Clarke, to suppose any effect 
Whatever, to foe as the -squtf e, or the cube of its cause, is to 
suppose that such effect arises partly fromits cause, and partly 
from nothing. Thus in the case of the free action of an electri- 
cal accumulation, as estimated by means of its attractive force 
rop^rtting between two cpnductors. (a)'(b) Jig. 16. there 
" are, a9 alreiuly observed (16) two separate causes to be consi- 
dered; the quantity of matter accumulated, and the controll- 
ing power of thetmifiKulated costing: and it has been observed 
(14) that the free action will be in a direct proportion to the 
quantity of mlitter, and in an inverse proportion to the con- 
trolling power. If, therefore, as the quantity of matter is in- 
creased the controlling power of the uninsulated coating should 
from any cause be diminished, and in an inverse ratio, then 
the free acticm must necessarily be in a duplicate proportion; 
aiid such a conclusion is by no means unwarranted by known 
fattt. 

We have already had occasion to remark, (14) that when 
an insiUated and Uninsulated conductor are directly opposed to 
^adi other, and, are separated by a non^-conducting interval, 
Ae capability of the form^ toTetainra*given accomnlation is, 

• See page 64. 



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ELECTRICAL A<M:^MULAlnO(N8. 75 

all Other things i^emamiiig the ttne^ iSoBnldevaUf liMvteed ; 
for the accumulation bein^ iletenxi^ed'by dte'ptVMBfaiiitfof 
the two conductors^ immediately upon the nuinmildted' <Mie^ 
a portion of the liatural electricity olTthe kitt^ be^oMM dte^ 
placed, and thus it approprmtes to itself, a' g^r^ttt pst of Ae* 
resulting action* In the operation of Ae Lefdenjer^(how\e^er/ 
the natural electricity of the insulated eoathig, Mt having' 
the same unlimited room to recede, in cimseqilenceof the inter- 
vening glass, the effect of the inductive influence in e^ifcrMlin^ 
the free action is not proportionate to the qudntitf adtonvftliert^. 
Hence, the respective quantities set free, as erismg from' this 
cause alone, must continue to increase in a^tfimple ¥atio df th^' 
accumulation.* .. . i * .> • > 

But m order to estimate the whbte amotml tg the free 
action, we have also to take into the account, the sinmltaneoiia 
influence of the matter^ thus set free, on the outside^ of Ae jar, 
by which the controlling power is at length destroy^, and the 
whole accumulation caused to pass in the form of an explosion ; 
by increasing the quantity accumulated, we have^ thovfinre, 
not only an increased quantity set free; but also an increased' 
neutralizing influence, which operating upon> Ae n^ativs 
coating, either immediately through the balls of the ekctroi* 
meter, or otiierwise through the surrounding medium^ as iii the 
case of a spontaneous explosion over the uncoated mterval ; 
the exclusive action between the coatings in the direction ci 
the intervening glass, will be necessarily diminished, tiiat is to 
say, the controlling influence in die latter direetite, taUI- be 
more or less neuiraKzed by a simlar and cppomHe Jbrce. 

« Itt8qidteIiiiiiiateriallnthlsfeye9tfgallMi,w1ie|]MrveMDdder 
decftrltalademiudittoii; to eomBHiice lint from te DegMfcrf^ottSagi whichnty 
be iiip^ofedto;happ6n k dMrging m jtr, by Uie tnu»lbr of its oim electiicUr, 
(0ip« 1.) or otherwise from the podtiTocottipgy as mty be supposed to occur in 
charging an uninsulated jar, (ezp. 9.) In either case, the qnantities set free will 
be precisely the same ; shice, in the one instance, the quantity displaced may 
be snpposed to precede the quantity accumulated, in the other, to eueeeed it. 



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76 MB. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

It k further to be obsenredygiiioe the teiideiicy toastate of 
equal distribiitim, in the directum of the balls of the electro- 
meter may be sappoeed to increaae^ not only with the quantity 
accmnnlatedy but also with the displacement from the opposite 
Goatii^ : we may likewise estimate the quantity set free, under 
these conditiiMis, and consider merely the power of controlling 
the free action, as depending on these two causes taken together. 
In which case, this power will continually decrease, in an inyerse 
ratb of the square of the quantity accumulated, (exp« 4), until 
it yanidies at the instant of the explosion; whilst tlie indicated 
attractiYe force will consequently tncrease in a direct ratio of 
the square of the same quantity, and the effect is still propor- 
tkioate to its cause} that is to say, to the quanti^ set free. 

This duplicate (Nroportion will not, howeyer, become iq>parw 
ent in the interval which the accumulation can pass ; since by 
increasing the interrals b^ween the exploding points, we 
diminish the attractive force $ the quantity of matter being 
constant, in the inverse ratio of the squares of the respective 
distances, as already explained, (20.) The attractive force 
therefore of the free actimi, considered as a constant quantity, 
is at a douUte interval, reduced to one-fourth, and the explo- 
sion cannot pass at a double interval, until an equivalent at- 
traction is obtained, diat is to say, until four times the quantity 
is set free, which will be when double the quantity is aocumu^ 
lated* 



80. In dttsposii^ the same quantity of matter on double the 
snrfiice, we have also a duplicate proportion indicated by the 
decrease of the free action ; as observed (exp. I(^ ; in this 
kistance, we may also trace die joint effects of these two 
concurring causes. It will be readily perceived, that to 
dispose the same quantity of matter <m a double surface^ is 
the same thing as r^^ards tfie attractive force of the free 
action, as diiE^osing half the quantity on the same sur&ce; for 



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BLBCTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 77 

let the double sorfoce be soppoeed to be divided into two parts, 
each equal and similar to the single surface, then the quantity 
will be divided in the same proportioui one half remaining with 
one part, and the other half with the other. We have only 
Aerefore, to determine the resulting attractive effect, for one of 
these portions, and we obtain the indicated attraction of both, 
(21) since die attractive force of Ae firee action is the same with 
one jar, as with any given number, when the quantity of mat- 
ter is made to vary with the number of jars. (exp. 11.) Now 
by disposing half the quantity on the same surface, that is by 
diminishing the quantity one half, we at the same time double 
the controlling power of the uninsulated coating, since the 
latter is increased as the difference from a state of equal dis- 
tribution is decreased : and hence, by the jcnnt action of 
these concurring causes, we have only one-fourth part the 
attractive force. 

This duplicate proportion, will not however become appa^ 
rent in the interval which the explosion can pass; (exp. 11) 
for as already observed, (20)* the attractive force being in an 
inverse ratio of the square of the distance, the explosion can 
with the same quantity of matter still pass at one half the 
interval; since by diminishing the distance between the balls 
one half, we quadruple the attractive force ; the quantity of 
matter being constant. 

The converse of this reasoning will be readily admitted, in 
its application to the duplicate proportion observable in accu^ 
mulating the same quantity of matter, on half the extent of 
coated glass, the one beii^ the reciprocal of the other, and is 

included in the general expression a OC g- (21); taking care 

to remember, that by s, we denote the extent of coated glass, 
considered as a simple quantity without reference to its two 
sur&ces. 

* See page 64. 



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78 MR. HABRIfir ON THE LAWB OF 

31^ TlieTaid€kUAiiMlnuiieiitBy employed aamwrnne^ of these 
dificireiit 'Stated of the free actioD) which we, have b^n ju4 
consMwingv have ibera.sppposed merely to indicate the d^via^ 
tbn of the aocumulated electricity, from a,. state, of Batucal 
di0tvibul&>D^ and to havenordatiQn to the quantity accumii«. 
latedi* batisiicba coikditttan must be<taken witkconaidi^rabl^. 
limitatioiu II ds'trae^-that Aa^mach free actioamay be. eyiqced 
by ajar coniaining.oiilyjar square foot, aa.bya Jar, containing, 
tensqaare^fee^or'byiabattery.containiiig.one.luuidjred*. Bui 
when we take into the aeoount the laws aboye mentioned^ (21) 
we* immediatdyi perceire ihat thero^ i9 an imjp^ taut jconnectioii. 
eaaatimg between the indiealed AttractiTeforcei the qi^anti^^of 
matter set freey and the relative qmntityvaccamulated., Tkw 
if^ gpvettqiMMtity of mattmr^beaodunuktedon, a square foot 
of coaled glaasy.and ittindicateaft attraetive forc^ which we 
will call 1, then supposing the same quantity to. he di^qpieaed on 
ten square feet, its free action will be reduced to one hundredth^ 
(21) that is to say, there will be only the one-hundredth ipart 
of one-tenth of the whole set free from each jar, £ince the mat« 
ter is disposed on ten janu (30) If therefore, the free action 
should become the same as before^ then one. hundred times the 
above quantity will be set free from each jar ; and ten times 
the original quantity of matter will be accumulated ctn tb^ 
whole* 

32. The duplicate proportion observable in the general law 
of dectrical attraction, aheady noticed, ^) will be found to 
involve a similar oeneurrence of tjwo equal causes; since it 
may be diewn by a very easy experimental, analy^,, that- the 
whole attractive force depends, first, on the force induiced in 
the attracted body, and secondly, on the distance at which the 
force so induced is caused to act. If therefore, whilst we 
dimmish die distance one half, it should h^ found, that the foiice 
induced in the attracted body is doubled, then we have neoei^ 

8inger*s Electricity, p. 180. 



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isttrOy four times the attraction. If the distance be diminished 
to one-Aitd/ahd' the force induced in the attracted body be 
' tripled/ dien- ire hare nine times the attraction, and s^on. 
There are a few very simple experiments to be adduced in 
support'of ^lis View'of electrical action. 

<* Bxp^ 34. A'targe jar, containing^ about fivesquare feet, 

was connected with the insulated cobductor of theelecttlam^ 

' 'eter,^ jyi^. 6^ abd widi the cohductor of the madime, as in 

< Jig\ 15; Are whole beings histdaied^and die quantity of matter 

measured by the ^cplosions^of a small jar,' dtargmg* fr«if the 

outer coating, on the principle already exptaaied, (13)«tad 

represented in^«. 13 and 16» A third conductor, {p^fig* 20) 

' with Ihttened^floirfiices/ wafei nowiCai«faltyinsidated,4md in* 

* terposed between die insulaled'tibd suspelided 4M>nduct«rs; 
' ^n) fhj ibderthese cdnditions^ ib» w«^^ vequisile «6 bal- 

* taite the attractive forces measmreis the force-induced in ^dib 
' intemiediate conductor, fc) aC difbrent distances from the 

insulated conductor, (A) die distance (a^c)betweeu the sus- 
"p(^ed and interposed ednductonv^remainiiig'm'each case 
'the tttmeJ Now the indu^edforc^ was found mtriU^eertam 
' Bimi$ to vary m b sfahple invwse n^ of tli6 dislaiio^ (e^b) 
' between' the insulated' iknd 'interposed conductor.* Thi» the 
" hiisdlaled conductor* (h) bein^ depresseil from contact With the 
"*hll^dfted'cbnductor^fe>thBrough mmtervalof two-4entlirof 
' an inch^ and an acomhufaition caused to take place^ expressed 
^ Vy twenty^explosions of theattdljaf; the weight-requisite to 
'balaDlo^ die attractive -force, amotmted to dght grains ;> the < 
* ' distance from die suspended cAnduetorbeing about two-tendis 
^^ of axk hkcVi the interval (c &)>beii^iioW dbulded, by depross- 
'^ in^ the icrwer iiinilated cdnductor^ fb) another two^^enths^ die 
' attractive ibrce amounted to four ^gfainsi the intervd (ob) 

t)eiiig increaised to six-tenth^ theattractiveforee amounted to 
'*'ab6tit two grains and lialfr the induced attractiou therefore, 
' vari^ In an inverse simpleratio df the distance, (e h) alF other 

* thlngisr mnainin^ the same. ' By a further extension of diis 



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80 MB. HARRI8 ON THE LAWS OF 

experiment, it became also apparent, that the induced force 
so long as the inductive action could proceed with facility, was 
directly as the force of the free action; for by increasing the 
quantity of matter accumulated by about half as much again, 
so as to double the free action, according to the laws already 
determined. (20) The induced attractive force at a certain 
distance was also doubled; the free action being quadrupled 
by doubling the accumidation, the induced force was also 
quadrupled. (21) This law however, as the disturbance in 
the interposed conductor became considerable, b^^ to vary ; 
the state of unequal distribution not being equally susceptible 
of further change. 

Exp. 25. The interposed ccmductor (c) being removed, 
and the attractive force at a given distance (b d^fig. 15) being 
determined, a second accumulation was caused to take place, 
so as to give at the same distance* a force double the former. 
This double force, bdng caused to operate on the suspended 
oondHctOT at a double interval, the respective attractive forces 
were found to be reciprocally proportional to the distances 
between the insulated and suspended conductors, (a) (6) Now 
in these instances, the induced force in the suspended body (b) 
must have been the same, since a double inductive f<Nree 2 a 
fig. 21, acting at a given distance, will be equivalent to a 
single inductive f<Nrce, (a) acting at one half that distance— the 
inductive effect being as just shewn, (exp. 24) inversely as the 
distances. This result although a necessary consequence, when 
we assume, that the force of electrical attraction, varies in an 
inverse duplicate ratio of the distance, still involves the im- 
portant fact, that the mdw^ force being caiuiantf the atiracm 
twe fQTce varies in an imoerse simpk ratio qf the Sstance 
between the attracting boJBe$. These results therefore, go to 
prove, that the duplicate proportion observable in the geaend 
law of electrical attraction, may be referred to the operation of 
two concurring and equal causes; that is to say, to the induced 
force, and to the distfoice at which the force so induced acts. 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONfif. 81 

when therefore^ thege vary together, and in an inyerse pro- 
portion, We haye the inver/se duplicate ratio above mention^. 

It may not be uninteresting to remarki t^t similar etfbcts are 
obsienrable in the action of a magnet on a mass of iron; the 
attractive force being dlTecdy as the force induced in this 
iron,rand inversely as its distance from the magnet/whilst the 
inductive effect is directly as the power of the magnet, and 
inversely as its distance from.the iron: and it is also demon- 
strable,that when the inductive effect on the iron can no longer 
proceed, the attractive force is not in an inverse duplicate pro- 
portion, but in an inverse simple ratio of the distance^ as I have 
endeavoured to shew elsewhere.* 

d3. The reasoning which has been advanced (29. 30) in 
explanation of the duplicate proportion observable in the 
attractive force of the free action, admits of muck useful eliici- 
datioiiy when the q^antities are represented by analogous 
geometrical magnitude; a method which frequently enables 
us to demonstrate theorems relating to such, quantities^r with 
grreat readinefib and precision; and cfevelc^es many impor- 
tant .facts which otherwise would not so i^eadily appear. 

iSmce the qjoantity of matter aocumuliEtted on a cbaiged 
surface maybe supposed to proceed by equal increments (13) 
therefore it may be represented by any magnitude supposed 
to Ifow uniformly. Let^ therefore^ the line a c, J^. 22^. move 
parallel to itself upon the line {c dj) and generate the equal 
spaces e e, mf^n ^, &c; then the rectangular space a, b, 
c if^may stand for and represent the whole quantity accumu^ 
lated;, and' because, as we have endeavoured to shew (29) the 
controlling power is constantly decreased, as the quantity of 
matter 19 increased, until it vanishes at the time of tE^ ex- 
ptbsion; therefore, it maybe represented by any magnitude 

* Experlamital RMaarehes, on the Laws of ]3AagntUo Action. 
L 



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82 MR. HAI&I8 0N THE LAWS OF 

supposed to flow ; and at the same time continaally decrease 
as the accumulation increases. Let therefore the line a e, also 
move parallel to itself, in the direction c dj and continually 
decrease by the* quantities e k^ f% g k, ^. which are pro- 
portional to the lines A ^9 kf^ a g^ ^c. that is, to the re- 
spective quantities of matter, and so generate the diminishing 
triangular space A d c, which may consequently stand for, 
and represent the whole of the controlling power: then the 
quantity of matter first accumulated being represented by the 
space e e, the quantity controlled will be represented by the 
space e A, and the quantity set free by the triangle, xeh; in 
the same way, a double quantity of matter will be represented 
by the double space e /'^ the quantity controlled by the space 
c t, and the quantity set frjee by the triangle, A y t, and so on« 
But the triangles a e &, a /* «, are to each other as the square 
of Ae, to the square of a^*; and since Aji m double of a^ 
these triangles are to each other as four to one. In the same 
way it may be shewn, thi^ the triangles A e \ A ^ ft, are 
to each other as nine to one, and so on : and as these triangles 
stand for the free action, whilst the sides Ag^ jij\ a 6^ are 
proportional to the respective quantities of matter accumu- 
lated; it is so far demonstrable that the free action of any 
given accumulation, is, all other things remaining the same, 
directly proportional to the square of the quantity of matt^. 

In a similar way, if the lines a €9 kJI stand for the inter- 
vals which the force of the firee action can pass, and the relative 
quantities set free, be represented by the triangles A eft, Aj^if 
&c. as before, then in drawing a curve line o, d, e, p, o, so that 
the ordinates d e, eJ\ &c. may vary in an inverse ratio of the 
squares of their distances from the point A; these ordinates 
D e, Ej'f &C. may stand for the relative attractive force of any 
given quantity of matter at the respective distances A ^ Ajf 
fitc. (20* exp. 14.) 

If therefore, when tiie quantity set firee is A eil, the expIo» 
sion takes place, the interval being A g^ and the a ttrac ti v e force 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 83^^ 

nSf then, in suppofling the interyal Ae to be made twice' as 
great, that is to become Ay^ the attractive force of the same 
quantity of matter would be represented by e ^ and the 
explosicm coidd not occur at this inteiral with the same 
quantity accumulated ; but in doubling the accumulation, the 
quantity set free would be represented by the triangle Ay i, 
that is, it would be four times as great, and the magnitude of 
the whole attractive force, would become equal to four times 
B^ that is, it would be equal to d e, as before, and the explo- 
sion must then again tske place. In a similar way, it may be 
shewn, that when the interval A e; is extended to A jf, the at- 
tractive force D B, of the same quantity of matter AeA, is 
reduced to one-ninth of dc^ that is, to f jf, whilst the quantity 
set free, when three times the matter is accumulated, being 
represented by the triangle A ^ Ar, becomes nine times as great; 
Ae explosion will therefore again pass at this interval, for the 
whole attraction will become nine times f g, that is, d e as 
before, and so on ;* hence the interval which the explosion can 
passywiU be directly as the quantity accamic/lQtfecI. (20) ^ 

84 The duplicate ratio observable in comparing the effects 
of the explosion, (23) would seem to be of a more intricate cha- 
racter, the concurring causes by the joint action of which it is 
produced not being very apparent. We might indeed be led 
to conclude, fix>m the circumstance of the effect being as the 
quantity of matter set free, (29) that it depended exclusively on 
the state of the free action; which we have seen is as the square 
of die quantity accumulated. (21) But such a conclusion is 
not warranted by the subsequent pheenomena, for the same 
quantity of matter is always equivalent to the same effect, 
whatever be the area of the coating, or the thickness of the 
glass, provided the surface be in an undivided state, and 
all other things remain unchanged, (exp. 21.) Since there 
fore, the same accumulation, disposed on jars, varying in size 
and thickness, exists in very diffident states of contrdled 

^llittis! eijoaltoJD^i^al a4oable, triple, fte.dlfbuiee--seepttge6i. 



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84 MR. HAItRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

action, the effect must liaye reference oidy to the quantity of 
mattejt accumulaied. 

This question however, may possibly admit of mudi elnti- 
dation, by taking into consideration, not only die quantity of 
matter accumulated, but the velocity with which it passes 
from the positive to the negative coating. Now it is not irn- 
reasonable to suppose, that the latter will be as the attractive 
force, exerted between the opposite electrical states; which 
being an effect proportionate to a given cause, must necessap- 
rily he as the deviation from a state of equal distribution ; that 
is as the quantity accumulated : apd hence, a double quantity 
of matter, will exert a double attractive force; and conse- 
quently, pass with a double v.elocity — ^it will theref<^ have 
Jbur iime$ the mamentum. For a similvr reason, a triple quan- 
tity of matter, would have thrc^ times th,e attractive force, and 
consequently pass with ^ triple velocity; and hence, have 
nine tim^es die momentum.* 

35, The attractive force, excorted between the opposite 
electrical states, will necessarily be independant of all those 
indications developed by the uncontrolled action; ev^i diose 
resulting from the area 6f the coating, or thickness of the 
glass : it must in fact be considered, as the disposition or ten^ 
dency of a certain natural power, or powders, to a state of equal 



* In afsomlog the attractiTe force to be proporttonal to the qvtndtf i 
mtilated, we faate to contlder tiie immedittte fbree •zerled i Kt w e otfae opiuika' 
eleetriealitatee,>ttheiiirtMrttUdfodttoiia<liiwn|rt^ 
teee of Ihe free fu«lsB, io reMop to thA qopuilMf aiwi^alf^^ 
obierred, U proportlpnal to tbe square of |he e6oiiiiiidat)on. We l^Te alrpa4y 
fldewm Qi9) tha^ this eflect results from ap increased qn$nti^ of matter, and a 
decreased compiling power ; so that if with a doable aocomalatlon, tiiere is 
evinced four times the attractite force, it is becaose there Is fbnr timee tlie 
quantity of matter set free) and tiie attractive force Is stIU proportiMate tp 1h» 
quatlty of matter in action, a»wo htm ^|ft i 



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ELBCraiCAL ACCUMULATIONS. 86 

dirtrilrolAoii^tlnraiiBliafivaioivc^ For although we •ome- 
iSmm %hmF¥ey thflit the aMaaotiye farce exerted between the 
oppoeedlcoeluigeyiseaflcieBt to breekdovmthe inlerFening 
gliiBs, wheB aeoomulaled pa aflnall extent of coetmg^ whidi 
doee not iiappm on a itioM extended eurfiiee; yet, we mnst 
not from Aifl effect oonelnde, that the nnttual attradion of the 
qipoeke eleotritd siflAeBy dvoagh a gmn dr c^ 
<xmntekhor ucreaeed^ or (Aerwiee dininhed. The tendency 
to an eqnldislrilnitian,eB|inotbe inany odier proportion than 
thai of the Tariatkn from the natural atate, that ia to lay, of 
the quantity accumulated. 1W power mdieafted by a spon« 
taneous exploeion, through the aides of a glass jar, depends 
exeluflPraly on die nodber of pointi^ to whidi the attractive 
ibroe is eonflned, so that on a great extent of coating, there is 
less aetien in any given darectiott« But the ahsdute quantity 
<tf aitractif« force, as lefeting to the deviation frmn the natural 
state, Mmoins unchai^ped ; the accumulation, whilst in the 
act of pipnng through a given drcnit (n bj Jig. 14, being 
dnrvm from every point df the intervening ghas through the 
medipnef theopposedcoatingR) and finaUy concentrated upon 
what may be considered as two cemtem of aotim (dj fb.J So 
long as thecirettit, and die quantity of matter therefore, ro« 
main michanged, the same attraedve force 'at the instant of 
die explosion will be inaetioii; irfiedier die matter shall have 
been previowly difltand over a large surfiu^e, or a small one; 
or odierwise, whedicritbe d i sposed on tUok glam or on thim 

We are hence led to infer, diat when the circuit is made 
cempleta, diat is, wiien all distsnce between the opposed coat, 
ings, is^asit wsnyannfliilated; it is no longer the attractive 
fiirse, as exerted thsongb Ae interveiiing glass, or die extent 
of coated sarfeee, or dm indications <tf the fine action whidi 
we ham to consider* Brci^thi^g relating to these, at mica 
vi^^ishes; for the gveai oonditkm uposi which thafar observed 
iafluenee restedi diatis ta say^ die septration ci the q>poaito 
states, by die interve&ing glass is destroyed; and we have now 



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86 Mft. HARRIS ON TH£ LAWS OF 

only to look to the variation, from the natural state of distri-* 
bntion, that is to the quantity of matter accumulated, and to 
its attractive force through a given circuit, that is to the rda^ 
tive velocity with which it passes; and therefore, it is not 
unreasonable to infer, that the duplicate proportion observable 
in the explosive effect of the accumulation on a metallic whre, 
(23) may depend on these two causes, taken together; so that 
when the matter is doubled, and the velocity also necessarily 
doubled, the effect must be quadrupled ; or, in other words,. 
ii muii be prapartumau to the momaituM^ with which thegivm 
qiumiiijf of matter pervades themetoL 

96. These views derive much support from a few admitted 
and important iacts— thus, when a given charge is caused to 
pervade a great ext^it of circuit, much of its power is lost, and 
die explosion of the battery at other times ranarkably loud» 
is then scarcely audible,* and to fuse any quantity of metal 
with a given charge, we make the circuit as short as possible ; 
the effect of the explodon on the wire of the electnnnetery 
fig. 8, is found to be gready diminished by increasing die 
length of the circuit, that is to say, by retarding the velocity 
of die charge, and the effect seems to decrease in an inverse 
ratio to the obstacle to be overcome, so that in transmitting the 
charge durough imperfect conductors, such as water contained 
in glass tubes, die velocity of the explosion is so much dimin» 
ished, that the effect, otherwise aMisiderable,.is no fonger to be 
appreciated. 

It is not improbable, but that the decreased effect of the 
explosion observed in disposing die accumulation on a divided 
surface, (22) arises in a great measure, from diis cause i since^ 
in employing many jars, we necessarily increase the nnndbar 
of charging and connecting conductors; indeed, the results 
griyeninTableI,seemtowarrant such acondusion; for sup- 
posing die number of jars to stand for the respective increase 

f Singer'! ElcMridty, p. 178. 



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SLBCTEICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 87 

of condnctors, the corresponding decrements in the effect, will 
be nearly in a direct proportion to the number of conductors. 

87. In the analysis whidh has been givea of the prc^^pess 
of an electrical accumulation^ (33) it may be inferred from 
theequality of thetriangles Arfc, Arf By that at the instant of 
the explosion, the free action is equal to the controlled action ; 
which may bis readily conceived to be the case— for at this 
instant, the tendency of the free action through the balls of 
the dectrcmieter (a) (b) jig. 14, being equiyalent to neutralize 
all die controlling power, the whole accumulation is set firee in 
the act of exploding, and a state of equal distribution ensues. 

, If therefore, we suppose the explosion to occur with a single 
quantity of matter c e at the interval A e, fig. 23, then the free 
action will be represented by the triangle a e m, and the con- 
trolled action by the triangle A m c; when the int^val is in- 
creased to Ay; and the quantity of matter to c^^ then the free 
action is represented by the triangle kfn^ and the controlled 
action by the triangle A n c, and so on ; it is only necessary to 
observe, that in estimating the fi-ee action by its attractive 
fiHTce, as indicated by a moveable electrometer, the ix^% action 
of the first quantity of matter c e will no longer be represented 
by the triangle A m e, when the interval a e is doubled, but by 
Ae triangle A « r or one-half of the form^— that is by one- 
quarter part of the triangle Kfn; since to obtain a double 
accumulation, by means of a moveable electrometer, we must 
oppose to the attractive force of the free action at the time of 
the explosion, four times Ae weight (exp. 15.) ; when, ther»> 
fcne, the interval is doubled, the respective quantities set free 
will be represented by the triangles A er, Kfn; when the 
ii^erval is tripled by the triangles A e $f Aft^ Ago; wtien 
the intoval is quadrupled by the triangles A e hf Afi^ Agk^ 
ABd. The free actiim being as the square of the quantity 
accumnlated as already observed (21.) 



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86 MB. iURRIB 0» THB LAW& OF 

I have vctttured on Aoee theoretioal oheervatioBSyinQre 
wiA a Tiew of tracing Ae connectioii which necessarily suli* 
sists between these interesting pheenomena, and of applying 
general pifiniciplea to the ^sq^^knation of particular fitcts^ than 
with any intention of hariiig sudi obsenratioas considered hb 
inoontroyertible. The theory which they include^ nuiat r^ 
on obaoryation wd experiaient, and it»e¥ideMe jmmt there£Mie 
incteaae or deereane with the number of ftctste which it can 
be applied, and the precision with whid^ iteK]plaini& tb«pa» 

3& It may not be inptofiert, befoce^ cendiidii^ thia [^per , 
to notice some circuniitanoes ooniiected with eleelrieal nyesli- 
gations, which appear calculated to involve them in some 
oBcertainty ;^ on wUeh wietMfpt they MNrit p^irticular atten- 
tion. 

In the applioalioii of clecl9ioil( jwi lo the pwpfmm 0f 
inireBtigation, it ia^ ^piila emenCial wt omttim e9:pemiMto i a- 
quiring great precision^ not oidy dkat thay expoee tha sMie 
extent of coated anr&M, b«t thai' thesf be in eveiy aliisr 
respect precise^ aini]kr» Vow tboiftonMjnany cmunialanMi 
affleoting iha idAatily of ecwHed jmnH»-it ia atosady know% 
Aat dfes ctrnage winch a jar caM lac^nxra aaealinniAi^ by lis 
otttactit^ ftrce, is in aanm dired^ ratio •£ the area of the 
coatings and inwMm^iiirveiw fealia dftlM dttd^^ 
A tUniar, baring Ae e^m extstt af oeaied smrfoee^ w41 
d»vefove, with thn flaiM ■Ma a sii d fcii almyts igiiitft mora.wina 
than a thick one: it ntst bd aeiainrttl Immmu,. thatlfaas 
is not in oonseqnanoa eC Aotdiffn 
bacaasa tbcna is abeafaHqfy iMi 
aginnattnu»iraforae.tM}. bi was shi^Kla (aqp^ 8i) thai the 
qwnti^ af matter being' tta sMms^tfe effM^ daea net mmj 
wbaiever be Iba AKkvasr^f tbeglSHi^ or csw^thearea.of lie 
osating, j^vided the jaa caft ] 
The way in which tha4io9thgPi»appliedy k 




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ELBCTRICAL AdCUMULAtlONH. 89 

gtioiee winch will also materially influence the action of a jar; 
BO that although the thiclmess of the glass, and the area of the 
coating be the same, the quantity of matter corresponding to 
a giren attractive fbrce^ shall greatly vary; and the quantity 
of matter being the same, the effect shall no longer be identical* 
This is die case when a layer of paper is interposed between 
the coating and the glass; which is sometimes resorted to in 
order to diminish the chance of fracture.* Thus in selecting 
some jars from a battery constructed by Mr. Cuthbertson, it 
was observed, that one of them materially differed from the 
rest; it would admit of a much greater quantity of matter 
being displosed on it, with a given intensity ««-but the quantities 
of matter being equal, the action of this jar was less than 
either of the others by neai^ly one Imlf. On examining the 
jiBU* attentively, a layer of writing paper was found to be in- 
t^rpdsed between' the outer coating and the glass; this being 
removed, and the coating restored, the jar acted in every 
respect like the others. The pieip^ therefore being an imper- 
fect conductor, impedes thi^'free transmission of the accumu- 
lation upon the surikce of die glass; and hence the force of 
the explonon becomes diminished : for the same reason it keeps 
down the tendency of the accumidation, through the balls of 
the electrometer, by whi<ih the controlling power is increased, 
as before explained (29.): every species of cement employed* 
to attach the coating to the glass, wiU consequently operate 
more or less to the diiaadvantage of the action of the jar, accord- 
ing as it has a greater or less hisulating power, and is applied in ' 
greater or less quantity* 

3ft. It is therefore essential, where great accuracy is re- 
quired, to ascertain in some investigations, the action of each 
jar sdpanatdy; If two jiffs, with the same quantity of matter, 
ex{>lode over a given interval, or exhibit the same attrac- 
tive foree, <ir produce the same effect as estimated by any 
of lite farming mediods, (13, IS, 7) dien they may be con» 

^ Sinfor'f Eleetrloity, p. ISC. 

M 



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00 1^* HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

sidered as identical; if not, the separate effects due to eadi 
should be noted, and the mean result taken. 

40« The way in which a series of jars are arranged, may 
also affect our results; when for instance, we increase the 
number of jars, and instead of arranging them about a com- 
mon centre, as in fi^ 17, in which case, each jar may be 
supposed to operate, as if disconnected with the others; we 
dispose them as in fig. 18, one jar only being connected with 
the conductor, and die remaining jars with each other ; there 
appears to arise in the latter arrangement, a g^reater impedi* 
ment to the free transmission of the accumulation, and although 
the difference is not considerable when two or three jars only 
are employed, yet in an-extensire iseries Jt is of ^eat import* 
ance. I arranged a battery of five jars, each jar containing fire 
square feet, (according to these methods,) and having charged 
it in both cases alike, the corresponding effects on the wire of 
the electrometer amounted to 56^ and 70^; the less being by 
the arrangement in fig. 18, about one-fifth. This circumstance 
may also arise from the increased number of conduct<Nrs, which 
the accumulation has to traverse; since each jar, except the 
first, instead of discharging through the line (a h)^ has to 
discharge through that line, and its connexion with the fiiyt 
jar. 

41. . The usual method of estimating the quantity of mat* 
ter by the fusion of wire being very uncertain in practice^ 
our results may be rendered unsatisfiu^fory from this circum- 
stance; indeed it is admitted, by many careful experimentalists, 
that wires may become fused, with but slight variations in 
appearance, when very different quantities of electricity are 
passed through them:* beside which, the difficulty of ascer- 
taining with precision, the point at which the fusion takes place, 
•o that the wire may be just made red through its whole length, 
and then drop into balls, is very considerable ; and we seldom 

SiDser*8 Electridty, p. 180. 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS; §1 

feel assured, that the given charge is not adequate to a some- 
what greater effect: this in many investigations, is of material 
eonsequence; since the quantity of wire fused, varies in a 
duplicate ratio of the quantity of electricity passed through* 

On this subject, Mr. Cuthbertson has the following obser- 
vations; he says, alluding to some experiments by Dr. Van 
Marum, *^ That he, (Dr. Van Marum) might not have been 
aware of the different degrees of ignition, caused by electrical 
discharges, but only judged of the force, by the wires being 
converted into balls, by which great mistakes will happen ; for 
if a wire be taken, eighteen inches long, and of such a diameter, 
that when a jar or battery is charged to such a height, as just 
to cause it to run into baits, much shorter lengths of the same 
wire, may be subjected to the same force, and still be only 
converted into balls. If only seven inches were taken, nothing 
but balls appear; the only difference will be that the balls 
will be smaller, and dispersed- to a greater distance ;^ which 
may be easily overlooked.'' He concltid^ by observing, 
^ Tliat the htoest degree of ignition must be had, so that when 
tfte charge is passed, the wire shall be red hot through its 
whole lengthy and then fall into balls.'' ^ 

42. The method sometimes resorted to by electricfans, in 
order to increase- the capacity of a coated jar, by breathing or 
damping the uncoated interval on the inside, is also calcidated 
to change materially the conditions of the experiment. Mr. 
Cuthbertson happened casually to discover, that a coated jar, 
when it was a little damp on the inside, would take a higher 
charge, than it would do after it had been coated for some 
time, and was quite dry on the inside. From this he says, ^^It 
appeared evident to me^ that if I could by any means render 
the inside of the jars regularly damp, it would answer the 
same purpose. Breathing into a jar was tried, and the success 

\ such, that it would receive and retain nearly double the: 

^ CttdiberUH>ii*s Practical ElccUricty, pe. 180, 185, 180. 



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92 1^<A. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

quantity of electricity it could retain when dry; and in trying 
to Ignite wire with the charge of one jar in a dry state, no 
more than five indies could be ignited ; though after breathing 
into it, twelve inches were fused/'* Hence, it is evident, that 
by damping the inner surface, we completely change the 
relative operation of the jar: it is in fact, little more than an 
ingenious method of increasing the inner coating, but in such 
way as to extend the surface, by means of an imperfect con* 
ductor, over which the electricity is diffused, and so increase 
the quantity ; the attractive force of the free action remaining 
the same* If we consider the intensity therefore, in relation 
to the quantity of matter, it may be said to be diminished; 
more especially at that point, from which it has the greatest 
tendency to explode: in the application of this method to 
the purposes of accurate investigation, we are consequently 
ei^posed to g^reat uncertainty. 

Thus, in experiments 146 and 147 of Mr. Cuthbertson*s 
useful work, it may be observed, (exp. 146) that two inches 
of wire became fused, by a charge of fifleen gfrains; and in 
exp. 147, eight mdies became fused, with a charge of thirty 
grains : but in the latter case it was necessary to breathe into 
the jar, so as to accumulate a given quantity of matter, which 
must have been more than equivalent to an attractive force of 
thirty grains ; evexj thing remaining as in the previous expe* 
riment. To have been accurate in these experiments, the jar 
should have been damped in each case alike; by which it 
would have been placed under the same circumstances when 
a charge of fifteen grains was accumulated, as those under ' 
which it was placed when a charge of 30 grains was accu^ 
mulated; and then the result as before observed by SJEr. 
Cuthbertson, would have been widely different; for the jar 
in the former case, would have been adequate to a much 
greater effect, so that from these experiments we cannot arrive 
at any just conclusion, respecting the relation which subsists 

* Cuthbertton*! Praetial Electricity^ p. 170» 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIOXg. 98 

between the quantity of wire fused, and tke intensity of the 
accumulation; which from the investigations already detailed, 
(21, 33) may be easily determined: since the quantity o( 
matter is as the square root of the attractive fierce ; (21) and 
the effect is as the square of the quantity of matter; (23) The 
effect, and the indicated attractive force, should therefore vary 
together; all oth^ things remaining the same, and eon« 
i^quently the charge of thirty grains, should only have fused 
twice the length of wire. 

It is rather important to notice the circumstance, that such 
would actually have been the case, or very nearly so, provided 
the jar had been damped in the previous instance, when a 
charge of fift^n gpredns was accumulated ; according to what 
is previously stated by Mr* CutfibertBon, and which has been 
just detailed ; since the same proportionate increase of capacity 
as that abQve-mentioned, must have taken place, even with the 
i^aipe in^nsity ; that is to say, the jar being damped, could 
have received with the given intensity of fifteen grains, an 
l^ditional quantity of matter. Now the effect being as the 
square of the accumulation, it would only have required the 
addition of about half as much more matter, with die same 
intensity, in order to have doubled the quantity of wire fui^ ; 
which, considering the influence of the increased capacity, 
might have been soon effected. Indeed, if we suppose the ratio 
^f 12:5 already stated, w-hich is nearly as 2 : 1, to express 
the increased capacity with a given intensity, then the result 
would correspond, or very nearly so. When the diifficulty of 
ascertainipg the precise quantity which the respective charges 
could fuse is taken into account, the difference will not appear 
to be very considerable.* 

* There does not seem to be any difficulty in accumulating the requisite 
charge in a jar, proTided the podtlTe coating is famished with a paper band, as 
Ingeniously recommended by Mr. Singer, and the jar freed from a coTer : and 
ti order to preserve the state of the jar iarariable, aU the oncoated intemd both 
Inside and out, should be careftdly Tarnished— in this case the action of the jar 
may be depended on. 



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94 ME. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

43. The Tarious circumstances which we have detailed 
being duly considered^ it will not seem extraordinary, that 
many well contrived experiments should have been productive 
of unsatisfactory results ; and that the conclusions arrived at 
by practical electricians should have been different. Thus 
Dr. Van Marum found his batteries to increase in power only, 
in the same proportion as the coated surface : viz. that a double 
surface of coated glass could only ignite double lengths of 
wire, of the same diameter, which Mr. Cuthbertson considers 
to be erroneous, because he found by his method of experi- 
ment, that double quantities of electric fluid in the ibrm of a 
discharge, will ignite four times the lengths of wire, that is to 
say, he found the effect, in this instance, to be as the square of 
the quantity of matter. Yet we find p. 183, exp. 149, that this 
result varied ; and p. 185 we observe, that when the quantities 
of matter were as 3 : 2, this law was no longer apparent; for 
exps. 160 and 151 shew, that in this case, the lengths of wire 
ignited, instead of being as 9 : 4, were as 6 : 2 ; that is, as 3 : !• 
No general conclusion therefore could be arrived at, concern- 
ing this law of electrical action on wires, which we have found 
(23) is always directly as the square of the quantity of matter,, 
all other things remaining the same. 

44. Much uncertainty in electrical investigations may be 
avoided, by measuring the quantity of matter accumulated by 
means of the explosions of a small jar charging from the outer 
coatings, as already explained ^^. 16, the discharge being 
effected by means of the discharging electrometer, represented 
in Jiff. 4. In this case, the electrometers usually employed to 
measure the charge by its attractive force, may be di^ensed 
with; thus the experiment is placed under the simplest form, 
since the same quantity of matter so estimated, is always 
equivalent to the same effect, the surface being constant, 
whatever be the thickness of the glass, or the area of the coat« 
ing, exp. 21, whilst the measure we employ may be considered 
as invariable — the jar and the discharging electrometer affixed 
to it always remaining the same* 



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ELECTRICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 95 

In referring to the works of Mr, Cuthbertson and Mr. Sin* 
ger, my object has been solely to elucidate an intricate, but 
interesting, philosophical inquiry; and I hope it will be 
understood that in so doing, it is my wish to preserve every 
proper reiqpect for the exertions of two able and ingenious 
men, whose loss the scientific world has so much to r^et. 

45. I shall now conclude with a short recapitulation of a 
few facts, whicli seem to be established by the preceding in- 
quiries: 

1 — ^An electrical accumulation may be supposed to proceed 
by equal inurements^ 

A coated surface charg^ing in any degree short of saturation, 
receives equal quantities in equal times, all other things re- 
maining the same*, 

The quantity passing firom the outer coating, is always pro- 
portional to the quantity added to the inner. 

2 — ^The quantity of matter accumulated, may be estimated 
by the revolutions of the plate of the electrical machine, sup- 
posing it in a state of uniform excitation ; or it may be measured 
by tb^ explosions of a jar connected with the outer coatings. 

It is as the sur&ce multifdied by the interval which the 
accumulation can pass: 

Whea the surfisM^ is constant it is as the interval : 

When the interval is ccmstant it is as theisurface. 

It isako as the surface multiplied by the square root of the 
ficQA actioiL 



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96 MR. HARRIS ON THE LAWS OF 

When the surface is conBtant, it is therefore as the square 
root of the attractive force. 

3 — ^The interval which the accumulation can pass, is directly 
proportional to the quantity of matter, and inversely proper* 
tional to the surface : 

It is as the quantity divided by the surface : 

If the matter and surfiu5e be either increased or decreased 
in the same proportion, the interval remains the same: 

If as the matter be increased, the surface be decreased, the 
interval will be as the square of the quantity of matter. 

4 — ^The force of dectrical attraction varies in the inverse 
ratio of the square of the distance between the points of contact 
of the opposed conductors, supposing the surfaces to be plane 
and parallel ; or otherwise between two points, which fall within 
the respective hemispheres, at a distance equal to one-fifUi of 
the radius, supposing the opposed surfaces to be spherical. 

5 — ^The fir^ action is in a direct proportion to the square of 
the quantity of matter, and in an inverse proportion to die 
square of the surface. 

It is directly as the efibct of the explosion on a metallic wire, 
all other things remaining Ae 



If the matter and the surface increase or decrease together, 
and in the same proportion, the attractive force ranains the 
same. 

If as the matter be increased, the surfiu^ be decreased, 
the attractive force is as the fourth power of the quantity of 
matter. 



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i..f„mMMimv9MLj 



BLECTOICAL ACCUMULATIONS. 97 

6— The effect of an electrical exploBion, on a metallic wire, 
depends exclusively on the quantity of matter, and is not in- 
fluenced by the intensity or free action. 

It 18 diminished by accumulating the matter on a divided 
sur&ce. 

It is as the square of the quantity of the matter. 

It is as the square of the interval which the accumulation 
can pass. 

It is directly as the attractive force of the free action, all 
other things remainingi in each case, the same. 

It is as the mamentum with which the explosion pervades 
the metal. 



Plymouth, November 17, 1885. 



N 



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ni. 



PARTICULARS OF THE CONStkUCTION OF A CAST-IRON 
BRIDGE OVER THE LARY NEAR PLTMOtJTU, BY JAMES 
M. RENDEI^ CIVIL ENGINEER ; MEMBER 6V THE ROYAL 
INSTITUTION 0^ CIVIL ENGINEERS; AND OF THE PLYMOUTH 
INSTITUTION^ ^ 



Tbm oonsthictioii of bridges of large dimeiisioiis has^ 
in evely civilized age and oountry, be^i considered an object 
of gcneFftl'interest. Nor is diis to be wtod^red at, when we re- 
gaird their iKiUty, <m the difllcuhies to be aicountered in their 
erection. Itis not liowcrrelr my intention to attempt the history 
of this interesting q^es of ahshitecture — ^It has already been 
amply discussed in several valuable treatises — ^AU that I pro- 
pose in* tlds paper,^ is to describe a work of great local im- 
portance, dt diffiCtdt construction^ and, in some respects, of 
liovel arrangmnent* 

The Lary: bridge is constructed over an estuary, firoin whicb 
it dterives its name, and is distant from Hymoudi about one 
mileand a quarter. 

It connects a lai^ agricultural dis^ct, on the southern 
shores of the county^ with the populous and improving neigh- 
bonritood of nynumth. 



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100 MR. J. M. RENDEL 

The Earl of Morleyi whose property at Sdtram forms the 
soathem bank of the Lary, early perceived the importance of a 
more direct and conunodious communication than the circuitous 
route by Plympton; and, in the year 1807, engaged Mr. Alex- 
ander, an engineer of eminence, to surrey and report, on the 
practicability of erecting a bridge for that purpose. That 
gentleman reported that, in consequence of the unfavourable 
nature of the bed of the river, the erection of such a structure 
would, (if at all practicable,) be attended with enormous ex- 
pense. The idea of a bridge was therefore abandoned ; but, 
fully convinced of the importance of the communication, his 
Lordship, being proprietor of the neighbouring antient Ferry 
between Oreston and Catdown, was enabled to establish a 
Ferry Boat of an improved character. By means of this boat, 
which, from its peculiar construction and acconunodation was 
called a 'Flying Bridge', carriages of every description, with 
their horses attached, were ferried across the river with much 
greater safety and convenience than by any ferry boat of com^ 
mon construction. The success of this establishment sufficiently 
proved its utility to the public ; but although superior to all 
other ferries in the neighbourhood, it was liable to interruption 
in bad weather and spring tides, and in proportion as the 
public became practically acquainted with its advantages, 
these interruptions were felt and regretted* 

In September 1822, having projected a Bridge of Suspen- 
sion across the Tamar at Saltadi, I waited on the Earl of Mm'ley 
to solicit his support. With that quickness, which in all 
matters of business characterizes his Lordship, he suggested 
the applicability of the principle to a bridge over the Lary, 
and directed me to turn my attention to a design for that, 
purpose. 

The drawings being approved, an Act of Parliament was 
obtained in the se8si<m of 1823 for carrying the plan into effect. 
Subsequently however, cfarcumstances occurred to occaoon 
the abandonment of the site first proposed, and the one on 



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ON THE LART BRIDGE. IQl 

which the present bridge k baih, being un&rourable to the 
erection of a bridge on the principle of iniBpension, the original 
intention was relinquished. In the session of 18249 another 
act was therefore obtained, repealing the act of 1823, so far 
as related to the Suspension Bridge, and extending its powers 
to meet the erection of the present structure. 

Aware of the opinion of llr. Alexander, I was anxious to 
acquaint myself with every circumstance that could be of 
importance, and therefore made a survey of the river. In the 
strait where the bridge is built, the waters are confined to a 
channel of about 660 feet wide (at high water,) formed t>y 
abrupt lime rock clifis, which disappear immediately above the 
bridge, and leave the Lary a basin of considerable magnitude ; 
receiving the waters of th^ river Plym, the Tavy, and minor 
streams. 

On boring in several places, it was found that the substratum 
was schistos or slate rock, lying nearly horizontal, at a depth 
of 60 feet below high water. The superstratum consists of a 
mixture of granite sand, deposited by the Plym, and alluvial 
matter brought in by the tide^ which, having accumulated to 
a depth of 00 fe^ on an aven^pe, a considerable portion of the 
higher parts of the basin is, at low water, left dry. 

On minutely examining the ground at the site of the bridge, 
it was discovered that, from the boundary of high water on 
the northern shore, the rock dipped at an angle of 80^, and 
on the southern, at an angle of 36^:— -that the chasm was filled 
with the above described d^KMits, to a depth of 70 feet, to 
which we bored, and that the maximum surfiu» velocity * of 

* Haying obtained the snrikce velodty in the ndddle of the stream, the 
Telodty at the bottom is eaaOy ascertained ; fbr it has been foond, by eijieri- 
ment, that if from the sqoare root of the MWifaee veloeUg expressed in inches 
per second, unity be snbtncted, tlie square of the remalDder Is the Telodty at 
the boUom. If, therefore, tlie former Toiooity be zz v, the Telocity at the 
bottom :=v^^2y^ » + 1 • or the mean Tclodty z: » ~ |/ » + i. 



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lOa MR. J. M. mBNDBL 

qpring tides, through this comporatiyely nditow^ channel, 
Aree ftet six inches per second, and their perpendicular rise 
ftom eighteen to ninc^teoi feet. 

It further appemed that inasmudi as the matter eomposuig 
the bed of the river, was Ibose td a considenAle depA, what-^ 
ever tended, by narrowing the channel, to increase the velocity 
of the current, («uch fbr instance as pien of a bridge,) would 
at the same time, deepen it. To aroid svch obsCroctions, as 
much as possible, We determined on having ihe arches as large 
as a due atlefition to economy would adknit. But as- large Hone 
arehe9 are very pottdtoous, die ex^^ense of preparing adequate 
artificial foundatiens for diehr piers and abluents, on such 
ground;^ would have been much greater than it was deemed 
prudent to incur. And- as cast-iron combinee dmubility and 
strength, with lightness, it appeared the material best fitted 
to meet the several necessities of the case. 

The value of iron, as a material fiir brid^ building, is Ailly 
displayed, in- many magnificent arches constructed in this 
country. Its application to Mch purposes, was an idea wordiy 
of English artisans; and in point of boldness of des^, and 
usefulnefls, is nearly idlied to tlw itfvention of the steam-en-^ 
gine. 

The Colebrook Dal6 compnnjs fassd the- honour of taking 
the letA in the construction of ctfsthoronbridgeB. In the year 
1777, that company constructed thie first over the Severn, inw 
mediately below- their works. Tbii» bridge is one hundred feet 
span, and forty-fire^ feet rise. Asa first attemptjitmay be cdn« 
sidered a bold and ingenioBs de8^;n.*-It is, however, def^ive 
in combination; but this derogfttes nothing from the merits of 
the inventors, who^observing the comparative incompressibility 
of iron, and the facility with which it could be moulded into any 
form, first saw, and demonstrated, its fitness for the construe* 
tion of large arches. 



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ON TOE LARY BRIDGE. 103 

Since the compleiicni of the €<debrook Dale bridge, the 
advantages of ii^on» for such purpoMs, hare occnpied the 
attention (tf oar mo^ eokiwated engineeni; and the rasalt has 
been the ^nployment of it in die conatmiotion of some of the 
finest specimens of bridge andiitectnre. Wo need only mention 
the one at Sunderland, the Soothwark bridge, and one hikij 
built oyer the Seyem, near Tewkesbury. 

To prove the superiority of inHi,it need o^y be slated Ihat 
the specific grayity of ca^-Jrap, of the ^pudity termed gun 
metal, is to the hardest description of gnmite as 2,75 to 1; bnl 
its power of resisting pressoce, is in the ptoportion of 88 te 1. 
Hence it would appear that a pillar of the hardest granite 
would crush at ks base, when raised to the hdght of flfiOO 
feet^wiiile it pillar of cast-iEsn wonld bear an olevntionof 
115,200 feet, before ks base would giro «qr« 

It is this superiority of steengtii in pfopertien to its ireight, 
which makes cast-iron of such Ytkie in ihe construction of large 
arches; and it ispleask^toreiect diot,by a judieions com^ 
bination of parts, we hare Ae means of extending the meehanic 
bow, far beyond whai eould have been done with any oAer 
matmsl. 

In the construction of fimmo-^ork of OFsry description, it 
should be a first care to avoid eonqpiexity and mutilation in the 
several parts. It §Jioukl also be recollected, that quantity of 
material does not constitute strengfdi, unless every part is 
accurately proportioned and adjusted to the several irtrains to 
which it is exposed. It js the due obserranoe of this principle 
du^ stamps the value of every piece of firanung, but nuNre 
especially of (hat new under considetition. 

In the coi|struction of iron arches, (after having* secured 
adequate abutmento) leteach s^pnent of a drde, or any other 
curvQ composmg a rib, be formed of pieoei, ae long as can 



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104 MR. J. M. REND1EL 

conreniently be cagt; and it is eridentv that the form of the 
arch must be destroyed, or the abutments separated, before the 
bridge can come down. It is, therefore, only necessary to con- 
struct a segment, so that its form shall not be changed by the 
various weights which it may hare to support, and to guard 
against its yielding sideways, and all that can be required is 
accomplished. 

To insure permanence in fiiejvrm of the curvef it is neces- 
sary to give the segment a depth proportionate to the chord 
of the arch ; and to secure it in a vertical plane^ a judicious 
distribution of matter is more in^rtant than quantity. 

< After these genial remarks, which I have considered, in 
some d^ree, necessary to elucidate the subject, we proceed 
to the particular description of the Lary bridge. 

. The sketch, which accompanies this paper, is an accurate 
representation of it. In the arrangement, it will be seen, that 
I have differed materially from other works of a similar nature : 
First— in the form and termination of the piers, at the springing 
of the arches ; and, second — in the curre of the arches, which 
instead of being s^^ents of a circle, are segments of anellipse; 
thus, in great measure, avoiding what I have been led to con- 
sider a defect, in other works of a like description. I allude to 
the unpleasant effect produced by small s^rments of a circle 
springing firom straight sided piers, always disagreeable to 
the eye of an observer, from the abruptness of the angle. By 
the present arrangement, the arches, at a little distance, se^n 
to form a continuous line with their piers ; which, in unison 
with the superstructure, unbroken by the intrusion of unneces- 
sary masonry, produce an effect that will, it is hoped, be found 
generally pleasing. The dimensions of the bridge, are as fol- 
low, viz. — ^The centre arch is one hundred feet span ; its rise 
or spring^ing, .fourteen feet six inches: the thickness of piers 
at the springing, ten feet; their thickness at low water spring 



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OH THE LART BRIDGE. 106 

tides, fifteen feet : at the foundations, nineteen feet : their 
height, twenty-nine feet. 

The adjoining arches are each 95 feet span ; their rise or 
springing 13 feet 3 inches. The piers, taken as before, 9 feet 
6 inches ; 14 feet 6 inches ; and 18 feet 6 inches respectively : 
their height 29 feet : the side arches 81 feet span ; their rise 
or springing 10 feet 6 inches. The abutments at the level of 
the spring^ing, 13 feet 6 inches ; at the level of low water 17 
feet ; at the foundations 19 feet : their height from the founda- 
tions to the springing 28 feet. 

To produce gteaJter stability, the abutments are made to 
.form an areh, which, abutting against the wing and approach 
walls, acts in opposition to the thrust of the arches of the 
bridge. 

The arches spring frcmt their piers and abutments about four 
: feet .afeflfve high water of spring tides* Their altitudes corres- 
, pond .with the curve or camber, of the bridge between the 
abutments, which is fatmed by a radius of 4670 . feet. 

The roadway is 24 feet wide within the railings, 500 feet 
in length within the abutments, and in the centre of the bridge 
.22 feet above high water of spring tides. 

In the width of. the roadway each arch has five ribs, equi- 
distant from ea^h other, and each rib is cast in five pieces — 
.they are cast solid, and their cross section is formed thus — 




being 2 feet 8 inches in depth at the springing, 2 feet at the 
apex, and in every part 2 inches thick, with edge-flanges 
to give them lateral strength. 

o 



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106 MR. J. M. RENDBL 

Cast-iron plates 25 feet long, 2 feet 8 inches wide, and 3 
inches thick, are firmly bedded in the masonry of the piers and 
abutments, and receive the ends of the ribs in shoulderings 
(Mr sockets, formed thus — 




The intermediate ends of the ribs are cast with flanges, and 
are connected togeth^ transversely, by strong plates of iron, 
fixed at right angles to their line of direction, and to which 
they are connected by screw-bolts, two inches square. 

The arch thus formed by lateral and transverse pieces, has 
25 divisions or spaces; in each are fixed two braces, having 
the form of the letter X : their ends being screw-bolted to the 
ribs, operate as a system of diagonal bracing to the whole arch, 
and fix the ribs immoveably in a vertical plane. 

The spaces between the extrados of the arch, and the 
roadway, are filled up with a system of triangles, the diagonal 
formed by their apexes being the true line of bearing, or per- 
pendicular to the line of forces; thereby equalizing the weight 
of the superstructure over the whole arch. These triangles 
are preserved in a vertical plane by cast-iron tubes, abutting 
against their intersections, being tightened by a wroi^t-iron 
screw-bar, embracing the whole transversely. 

Above the springing of the arches, the piers are composed of 
cast iron framing, fixed perpendicularly by diagonal braces and 
cross ties ; their upper-ends terminating in a plate 4 feet long 
and 8 inches wide. On these plates, the ends of the bars whieh 
carry the covering or road-way plates, rest in grooves, and 
admit of a reciprocating moticm, in thedirection of their length; 



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ON THB LARY BRIDGK. 107 

io order that any expansion or contraction in the arches, arising^ 
from change of temperature, may be provided against. 

These bars are cast in the form of the letter T, and fixed 
vertically over the main ribs, and are consequently supported 
between the pier frames, and their intersections with the ribs, 
by the triangular braces before described ; forming a flat arch 
for the whole length between the abutments of the bridge ; the 
radius of which, as before stated, is 4670 feet. On these bars 
rest the covering or roadway-plates, 1 inch thick, 13 feet long, 
and 3 feet wide. They are laid in the tranverse direction of 
the roadway, and are connected laterally by flanges and screw- 
bolts, and transversely by dovetails; forming one sheet of cast 
iron, 26 feet wide and 500 feet long ; which being firmly con- 
nected to the framing below, by strong dove-tail tenons, cast 
to the bearers, and wedged tight in corresponding mortices in 
the plates, serves the double purpose of roadway-plates and 
bracing, to the whole of the framing, by which it is supported. 
A bed of strong clay, four inches thick, covers the whole 
surface of these plates, upon which is laid, small broken stone in 
the usual way of making roads. Iron side-railings, and foot- 
ways of Cann slate, complete the superstructure. 

In the construction of bridges of every description, it is of 
the utmost importance, that the directions of the joints of the 
several parts composing the arch, should be at right angles 
to the line formed by the several forces acting upon the arch, 
by means of its own and superincumbent weight : it is also 
important to the stability of the arch, that the line of thrust 
should pass through the whole of the parts composing the arch, 
in, as nearly as possible, the same relative point : the two pos- 
tulates of an arch of equilibrium, about which so much has 
been written, with what success to the practical engineer, I 
must leave others to determine. The labours of Dr. Hutton, 
diould however be appreciated ; for, in a mathematical point 



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108 MR. J. M. RENDEL 

of yieifTy his theorem for an arch of equilibrium is clear and 
satisfactory, though the practical difficulty (or I would say 
impossibility) itinyolves, whenthe intradosare semi-circular or 
semi-elliptical, renders it almost useless to the bridge builder. 
But that an arch of equilibrium, with any description of curve 
for the intrados of the arch, can be obtained, is a fact, which I 
hope satisfactorily to prove in some future communication ; it 
being inconsistent with the present design to enter more fully 
into the discussion : I would however remark, that the arches - 
of the Lary bridge are constructed on this principle ; and that 
the piers are made sufficiently thick to include the line of 
thrust, which has this advantage, that the destruction of one 
or more of the arches, would not affect the stability of the re- 
, mainder ; a circumstance which in the construction of bridges 
of several arches, claims particular attention. 

In every kind of architecture, an adequate foundation is the 
first consideration ; but as it most frequently happens in the 
construction of bridges that the foundations must be artificial, 
various modes have been resorted to. All are however expen- 
sive, and difficult of execution; and in cases where the ground 
is loose, and the stream rapid, extreme care is necessary, to 
secure them against all vicissitudes. Formerly, in the bed of 
a deep river, it was customary to make a foundation by driving 
a quantity of piles all over the space allotted, and the whole 
of the interstices, between the piles, being filled with small 
stone, the pile-heads were cut off at the level of low water, 
and the masonry commenced. But in such cases, the piers 
were immense massec, requiring to be protected with sterlings, 
which added to the size of the pier:-<-thus the water-way be- 
came so much reduced, and consequently the velocity, of the 
current so much increased, that the bed of the river was not 
unfrequently washed away, the foundation undermined, and 
the safety of the fabric endangered. The old London bridge, 
and the old part of Rochester bridge, are instances of this 
kind. For this method^ long since disused, there has been 



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ON THE LARY BRIDGE. 109 

substituted, the more scientific and secure modes of construct^ 
ing foundations by means of coffer-dams and caissons. 

In few instances have the difficulties to be oyercome, in the 
formation of foundations, exceeded those we had to contend 
with at the Lary bridge, as must be evident firom the de*^ 
scription of its site. These difficulties having been success* 
fully met by methods somewhat new, it is hoped that the 
following particulars respecting them will be found interesting. 

The works commenced by inclosing the areas of the intended 
foundations with sheeting piles of beech plank, four inches 
thick, and of convenient width ; say from nine mches to fourteen 

inches* Their edges being prepared thus ^^f/jf^ and being 

driven quite close, effectually inclosed the areas of the founda- 
tions. These piles were driven to a depth of fourteen feet, in 
guide-frames, (to keep them perpendicular) by a pile engine, 
in which worked a cast-iron weight of 450tbs. The spaces 
thus inclosed were excavated by means of what were termed 
^ sand-spoons,' to a depth of from six to seven feet ; they were 
worked by three men on stages, fixed about four feet above 
low water, the excavated sand being discharged over the sides 
of the piles. In appearance, these spoons resembled the ballast- 
dredge used on the Thames. 

As the excavations were completed, the g^round was piled 
with whole Memel or Norway timbers, the piles being arranged 
in rows, about four feet six inches apart firom centre to centre, 
in each direction. These bearing piles, having to carry the 
whole weight, or nearly so, of the superstructure, were driven, 
not as customary to any prescribed depth, but until they would 
not sink more than one-eighth of an inch, with a weight of 
15 cwt. falling firom a height of 25 feet inunediately upon, 
their heads. They received twenty extra blows with the same 
weight and fidl, after they had arrived at this degree of firm- 
ness, which in few cases happened until they were from thirty 



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no MB. J. M. RENDEL 

to thirty-fiye. feet in the ground. Each of the pier foundations 
contained from sixty to seventy, according to the solidity of 
the ground, afker a certain quantity had been driven. The 
abutment foundations had from seventy to eighty, and those 
on the north abutment are, on an average, forty-five feet deep. 
To pitch and drive such lo^g timbers was by no means an easy 
matter. Temporary stages and platforms were erected about 
four feet above hig^ water, and there the men worked tho 
pile-ragines. 

The next operations were of more difficulty than any of 
the preceding, and required considerable care and accuracy 
in the execution. I allude to the levelling of the pile-heads, 
which were to be cut off at least nine feet below low water 
of spring tides; and the paving of the spaces between them 
with masonry. 

From the nature of the bed of the river, it will be evident, 
that to exhaust the foundations of water, would have been 
impossible ; since, however secure the sides of the dam might 
have been, the surrounding water would have forced itself 
below the dam, and made its appearance through the bottom. * 

A saw of a similar description to those used by IMbr. Milne m 
the construction of Blackfriars bridge, would have been suffi- 
cient to cut off the pile-heads : but to pave the spaces between 
them, it was necessary that the work should be laid open to the 
hands and eyes of the labourer. It was therefore proposed, 
that both operations should be performed by the assistance of 
a Diving-Bell ; and economy being important, it occurred to 
me, that instead of a cast-iron bell, which, with its apparatus, 
would t^ost from £700. to £800. one of wood might be made 

* 80 ezoeedioffly loose If the bed of the rirer, that I feel conriiioed had it 
been potilble to ezhantt the water from the foundationf instanUift the whole 
of the endoted spaee would have been Mown mp^ notiHthiitaiHttny the tncremd 
dMiityofthegmad^ces tto sdby IhepUlDf. 



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ON THE LART BRIDGE. HI 

for one-fifth of the amount. The experiment was accordingly 
tried, and the result more than answered our expectations. I 
am induced to give a description of this bell, as its economy 
may render it useful to others. Our first care was to procure 
well seasoned elm wood, in boards of 1^ inch thick, and these 
were put together in two thicknesses, crossing each other and 
treenailed. The joints were dowelled and tongued ; and, to 
render them air tight, flannel, saturated with a composition of 
bees' wax and rosin, was placed between them. In the top 
of the bell, lenses, such as are usually employed, were placed 
and bedded in the above-mentioned composition. Two hoops 
of wrought iron were then passed horizontally around the inside 
and outside of the bell, and screw-bolted together, so as com- 
pletely to protect the wood work from internal or external 
pressure. Internal and external iron stays, in which were 
fixed the sling chains, crossed these horizontal hoops, and con- 
nected the top of the bell with the sides ; and being screw- 
bolted to the hoops, distributed the weight of the bell, when 
slung, over the whole of the iron framing. The bell was 5 feet 
9 inches long, 4 feet 6 inches wide, and 5 feet high ; and required 
an additional weight of 3 tons 15 cwt. to sink it. The weights 
for this purpose were of cast-iron, hung round its sides. As 
the water was deep and the stream rapid, it was deemed expedi- 
ent to guard efiectually against the escape of air ; the bell was 
therefore, as a further precaution, lined with sheet lead. Air 
was supplied to the dirers in the usual way, and thus the several 
operations of levelling the pile-heads, paving the spaces between 
them, &c. were carried on with ease, certainty, and dispatch. 

Platforms, composed of wood and stone work, of the fbrm 
and dimensions of the several spaces inclosed by the sheeting 
piles, were constructed on the shores, and the joints being wdl 
caulked, and rendered water-tight, the first courses of masonry 
for the piers and abutments were built on them, to a height of 
from 3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet. In order to make this a floating 
mass, it was surrounded with wood work made perfectly water 



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112 MR. J. If. RBNDEL 

tight, and conneeted with the platfonn sustaining die masonry, 
by strong bars of iron, previously fitted to cast-iron sockets, 
bolted thereto, forming a sort of box about sixteen feet in 
height, and in length and breadth equal to the platform. — 
Thus prepared, the joint, formed by the connection of the 
sides and ends with the bottom, was caulked; and the whole 
becoming buoyant, was floated from the shore, and sunk on 
' the foundations, previously prepared by the aid of the diving 
bell. When the masonry was built a few feet above the level of 
low water, the sides and ends of these caissons were disengaged 
from the bottom, and used in a similar operation for the next 
foundation* In construction and application, these caissons 
differed materially from any others with which I am ac- 
quainted* 

I have before stated, that the gpreatest difRculty in the con- 
struction of a bridge of arches in this situation, arose from the 
extreme looseness of the natural bed of the river. It therefore 
became necessary, as the works proceeded, to adopt some 
effectual means of guarding the foundations against the influ- 
ence of the increased velocity of the stream. An artificial 
bottoming quite across the river at the site of the bridge, 
appeared the only certain remedy, and it became a question 
what were the best materials and mode of accomplishing our 
purpose. 

Having ascertained from experiments that the strong red 
clay, found in the limestone quarries in the neighbourhood 
of the bridge, did not waste when exposed to a current of 
water moving with a velocity of seven feet per second, acting 
immediately on its surface, it occurred to me, that this clay 
and the calcareous spar obtained from the same source, would 
form the best possible materials. As soon, therefore, as the 
bed of the river had scoured away to the depth at which we 
thought it expedient to conunence this artificial bottoming, 
the work was beg^ by depositing the abovementioned clay, 
mixed with small stones, over the whole surface of the bed of 



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ON TKk LART BRIDGE. 113 

the river, from 60 feet above, to 70 feet below, the bridge ; 
which was proved to be the extent of the increased current. 
The clay was kept, as nearly as possible, about two feet thick, 
and lastly it was covered with rough blocks of limestone and 
spar, within one foot of the original bed of the river. The 
stone being thus firmly imbedded in the clay, while the clay 
(being impervious to the current) prevents the water getting 
down to, and acting on, the loose bottom ; the whole is, by 
their united assistance, secured in a way that could not have 
been accomplished by either of the materials applied singly. 

This bottoming will improve in hardness and strength, from 
marine accumulations filling the interstices bi^tween the stones, 
and from pressure &c.; so that ultimately, I have little doubt, 
(and the experience we have already had, fully justifies the 
opinion,) that the whole will be as compact and hard as inatiy 
of our indurated rocks. The sectional form given to thii^ 
bottoming will be clearly understood, on reference to the 
accompanying drawing of the bridge. 

All the masonry, with the exception of such parts of the 
piers and abutments as are in contact with the iron work, 
which is in granite, is built with lime stone from the neigh- 
bouring quarries, belonging to the noble proprietor of the 
bridge. The piers and abutments are built with wrought 
blocks, in sizes varying from two to five tons each. 

As the strength of masonry depends much on the goodness 
of the cement or mortar, particular care was observed in pre- 
paring the mortar for the work under water. One part of 
Puzzolana, to two parts of ground blue Lyas lime, were mixed 
under a mortar-mill, with three parts of sharp clean sand, un- 
til the whole formed a tough paste. Mortar of this description 
acquires the hardness of Portland stone, in the course of a 
month, though constantly immersed in water; but conunon 



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114 MR. J. M. RENDEL 

lime and sand mortar, prepared in the most careful manner, 
will never acquire hardness under water, and should therefore 
be avoided in such situations. 

The works began on the 4th of August, 1824 — ^the first stone 
was laid on the 16th of March, 1825, and the bridge was 
opened on the I4th of Jidy, 1827— on which day her Royal 
Highness the Duchess of Clarence and suite first passed over 
it* 

The foundations, masonry &c. of the bridge, were executed 
undv contract by Meseors. Johnson, of the Plymouth Granite 
works, and of Holywell-street, London ; the manner in which 
the work is finished, is their best praise. The iron saperstruc- 
ture is by that able and experienced founder, Mr. Hazledine, 
of Shrewsbury. 

It is needless here to eulogize the public spirit evinced by 
the Earl of Morley in this important work; the expense of 
which was certain and considerable, whilst its returns could 
only be precarious. For the steady confidence with which 

* The foUowiDg inscription which was Aindshedby Mr.Walla>, and approTed 
and amended by the lale Right Honourable (George Canning, Mr. William 
Bankes, the Earl of Carlisle, tlie ReT. Charies Young, and other soholars of 
eminence, is mAzed to a blodc of granite, at the norHMrn eztremltj of tha 
bridge, 

HUirO PONTBM 

SENATVS AUCTORITATB SUSCBPTUM 

XOTAS rr COMMODAS TIAS 

msCLUDBHTBM 

JOHANNES COMES DE MORLEY, 

sou SUMPTIBUS 

STBUBMnUM coBAvrr. 

OPUS INCHOATUM, A* O. 18S4; 

ABSOLVTUM, A. O. 18S7. 

J. M. RBNDEI% ABCBITBCTO, 



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ON THfi LART BBIDGE. 115 

his Lordship encouraged one, young both in years and in his 
profession, to meet and surmount the various obstacles and 
natural di£BcuIties in the execution of this work, perwHol 
gratitude alone is due — ^but for the advantages derived from 
the bridge itself, the Earl of Morley has laid the public of 
Plymouth under lasting obligation* 

The benefits to a nation, from such a spirit of truly patriotic 
liberality amongst her nobility, are incalculable. To the many 
magfnificent exertions of it, England owes no small part of 
her commercial prosperity ; and the names of the Dukes of 
Bridgewater, of Portland, &c« &c should be venerated by 
every lover of his country, as powerful contributors to its 
present emin^ice. With regard to Plymouth, it is to be hoped 
that the example set by the noble Earl in this and other pub- 
lic works in the vicinity, may find imitators. The natural 
advantages of the town and port are greeLt^ and nothing appears 
to be wanting for raising them to a still higher scale of national 
importance, but a continuance of that enterprising and liberal 
spirit which is at present dawning amongst a large portion of 
the inhabitants. 



PigmotUk, Jan. 1680. 



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IV. 



ON THE RISE AND DBCLINS OF PARTICULAR MORTAL 
PISEA81», DURING THE LAST TWENTT-FIYB YEARS; WITH 
AN ATTfiMFT TO ASCERTAIN THE liAW OF MORTAUTY, IN 
RESPECT OF ITS DISTRIBUTION QN VARIOUS AGES, AND IN 
BOTH SEXES : BY EDWARD BLACKMORE* M. D. MEMBER OP 
THE ROYAL MEDICAL 8QCIETY OF EDINBURGH, AND OF THE 
PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 

Dimtazat Rerum Magnarmn par?a potest ret 
Exemplare dare, ae Testlgla notltiai. 

The subject oi this p^>er is ccmtained m tlie follawiog 
pasmge of Malthus's Esny on the Principle of Population^ 
vol. 2f B. iy* c. 5.—^ Nature will not be defeated in her pur- 
poses; the necessary mortalky must come in some form or 
other; and the extirpation oi one disease will only be the 
signal for the birth of anodier, perhaps more &Ltsl. We can- 
not lower the waters of misery by pressing them down in 
different places, which must necessarily make them rise some- 
where eke— the only way in Irhich we can hope to effect our 
purpose, » by drawing thtem off. In a country which keeps 
il8 population at a certain standard, if the average number of 
marriages and births be giren, it is etident tlmt the average 
number of deaths will be also given ;iuid the channel through 
which Ike great stream of mortelitjr is coBstantly flowing, will 



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118 DR. BIACKMORE ON THE RISE AND 

always carry off a given quantity. Now if we stop up any 
of the given channels, it is most perfectly clear that the stream 
must run with greater force through some of the other channels ; 
that is, if we eradicate some diseases, others will became more 
fatal. In this case, the only distinguishable cause is the dam* 
ming up a necessary outlet of mortality. The way in which 
it operates, is probably by increasing poverty, in consequence 
of a supply of labour too rapid for the demand. If the cow- 
pock should extirpate the small-pox, and yet the number of 
marriages continue the same, we shall find a very perceptible 
difference in the increased mortality of some other disease. 
Nothing could prevent this but a start in agriculture.''— 
The view of the reign of death herein exhibited, is truly dark 
and startling. This doctrine of the conslanoy of mortality 
wears an aspect which is naturally calculated to repress the 
elibrts of phflanthrophists to extirpate diseases; — and the 
fatalum with which it invests mortality, tends to shut up 
mankind in hopeless subjection to the various ills of their 
condition. The passage moreover assumes, that mortal diseases 
will necessarily and perpetually exist ; and thus for ever 
precludes the hope of man's attaining to a natural issue of his 
earthly existence in the exhaustion of mature old age.-— 
Omitting to discuss the truth of this proposition in the ab- 
stract, as designating the law of mortality in a state of society 
where the populaHon ismakmg pressure on themeans of subm 
sistencef I propose to inquire— How far, from the r^^ister of 
deaths in the course of the last twenty-five years, m(»tality 
is shewn to be a constant quantity f — ^What changes have beoi 
wrought in the various channels through which the great 
stream of mortality has been flowing — What relative proporm 
turn is observable in the rise and fidl of particular diseases f— 
lbs, for example, the d^ession in the mortidity of the small- 
pox since the discovery of the cow-pock, been a means of 
diminidiing the general mortality in the raie of that dqprtsnom ; 
or, has an increase in the mortality of some other dinases, ab- 
sorbed those whom dM dedbM of tfae small^pox had permitted 



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DECLINE OF MORTAL DISEASES. 119 

to surviye ? Can any natural explanation be assigned of the 
variations in the channels of mortality » and of the general 
constancy of death ? or, is its invariable amount to be ascribed 
to an inscrtaabk law qf Dwine Providence ! — ^< that,'' in the 
words of Dr. Woollcombe, " which the plan qf Providence in 
the creation qf life requires ^ If there be snch a determinate 
rule in the prevalence of death as Malthus expounds, what can 
MEDICINE effect in promoting the well being and life of the 
community f 

The LoNDOH Bills of Mortality present us with the 
largest scale of deaths of any record within our reach ; and 
they are of sufficient accuracy for the object of our inquiry. 
For although the designation of diseases in them is not scientific, 
and their materials are drawn from sources which might be 
presumed to be tmcertain and inadequate ; yet, as Dr. Heber- 
i>Eif has well remarked, ^* The agreement of the bills with each 
other at variouis periods, does alone carry with it a strong 
proof that the numbers under the several articles are by no 
means set down at random, but must be taken from the uni- 
form operation of some permanent cause.'' And more exact 
proof of their general accuracy is to be found in the accordance 
of the numbers of those Aseases^ taken together j which are known 
to be peculiarly prevalent at particular ages, with the total 
numbers which toere ascertained to have died at those very ages. 
It is only necessary to premise further, that * the bills ' con- 
sist of two tables ; one of the deaths at different ages, without 
distinguishing the fatal disease ; the other of different diseases, 
without distinction of the particular ages, when they were 
severally fiitd. 

I select then, as proper tables for ccmiparison, the bills for 
two periods of six years each, from 1795 to 1800 inclusive; 
and from 1820 to 1825 inclusive — for the proportion of one 
mortal disease to the total mortality in any given period, is 
assumed to be a fair subject of comparison with the proportion 



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120 



DR. BLAGKMORE ON TOE RISE AND 



of the same mortal disease to die whole mortality in another 
period ; and the variation educed by this comparison will be 
strictly correct, provided diat either the periods of time, or 
the total deaths in each period^ be, equal. In the former of the 
above periods, the deaths among infants were 35,925 ; in the 
latter 32,439 : giving a reduction in the mortality of infants, 
during these late years, of 3486 in a general mortality of 
116,513 ; which reduction, if it w^re extended over the whole 
world, would make a gain to population of UoeiUy^even miU> 
Kens of infants in the course of the mortality of a generation 
of human beings! 

We are now to examine by what variations in those particular 
diseases, which more especially belong to infant age, * this 
reduction is explained — ^and how the general amount of mor- 
tality in the adult, during this period, seems to have been 
, affected by it — which inquiry will show how far this saving 
of infant lives has been a positive gain to population, and will 
also confirm, or limit, or refute the proposition of Malthus. 

On collating the London Mortuary Tables for those several 
periods, it appears that the following infantile diseases have 
fallen m mortality, and are on the decline. 

TABLE I. 



DISEASE. 


Number from 
1795 to 1800. 


Number from 
1820 to 1825. 


Differeoee of the Num- 
bers or DecUnatioii. 


Conmisioiis 


24,329 


17,074 


7,255 caj 


1 


SmaU Pox 


10,867 


4,702 


6,165 (b) 


Teething 


2,334 


1,462 


872 CcJ 



a This deeUne nearly eqotls one-tldrd of Its former total mortality I 
6 DecUne equals one-half of Its former total mortality. 
e The dedfaie Is one-third of Its former total mortality in six years 1 
• Infancy comprises all persons below two years of age. 



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DECUNB OF MORTAL D18BASBS. 



121 



' The table of the number of deaths at particular ages 
evmcesy howeyer, that the actual saying of infant lives dur- 
ing- Ais latter period was below four thousand ; whence it is 
manifest that scmie other in&ntile diseases must have greatly 
risen in mortality in the interval of those periods. These are 
exhibited in the following table. 



TABLE II. 



DISSASB. 


Number from 
1796 to 1800. 


Number from 
1890 to 1895. 


1 


Croup 


97 


586 


489 


2 


Hoopliig C#«Sli 


1^468 


4011 


1548 


Water in the 
Bndn (a) 


. 444 


3029 


2585 


• Bfeadtt 


1671 


4261 


2590 


SdU-born 


3418 


4579 


1161 



Had the diseases enumerated in the first table not fallen in 
mortality, and had the measles &c. in the second table assumed 
their present rate of destruction, the deaths among infants had 

a It if aoMthm ^baUethtt mtny casei of this eUas of tsetse may in the 
praoedios taUe have been eonfomided with eofumfoion* ; but the reenlts whidli 
theae tables are adduced to exhibit are not aiBBoted by thia error, inasmnch as 
on eombMng the$e tmo eUuset, in the several periods, there is a disparity of 
nearly fire thousand— shewing incontestibly a savinf of infimts In the recent 
period. 

b The total amonnt of the deaths which are comprised in tliese two tables, 
daring the former period being 45,628, and during the latter period 89,704, and 
the actual deaths below two years being in the former period 85,995, in the latter 
89,489 ; there are at least 9698 cases of these disorders in the first instance, and 
7965 in the second, which must have occurred after infancy, and consequently 
are to be transferred to the sabsoqoent tables.— Vide note* p. 195. 



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122 DR. BLACKMORE ON l^B RI8B AND 

now been 49417 (a) out of a total mortality on all ages of 116614, 
in the course of the six recent years, instead of 3343&-*-oi 
there had been an augmentation in the infimt mortality of 194 fit) 
millions in an entke generation.-^Hjad the former dass on the 
contrary, fallen, and the latta* receiyed no increase^ tlio mw^ 
tality woald have been only 27,913 in this period; that is, 
there would have been a saving of infant liyes equivalent to ZiCO 
millions in a generation. Such vast elements are these diseases 
in the powers which are destined for the repression <^ human 
life! 

There is a diflference in the grand totals of the last columna 
of the above tables of 5919 ; while the actual saving of infimt 
lives, during the recent period, is shewn in the bills to be 
only 3486: there are consequently 2483 deaths to be trans- 
ferred from the total of decline in table L (which has been 
assumed to consist for the most part of deaths in tPf^imli) to 
the dass of adults' diseases in the subsequent table* 

What then are the variations in those diseases which prevail 
for the most part amcmg adults % 

The diseases among adults, W which have recentlyya/Zn 
in mortality. 



a That ig, on the astmnptf on that all the anmbew fai ^aec td^et r wwln of 
iDfluitf; hat ts firoB Dots « p. ISl, some of the eaaaa were sdiittt, the aatsil 
deathfininfhatawoiildheaboafti&yOOO; and the ratio of aufwated siortalily 
61^ minioiii in a feneratloa. 

h Thif ia obtained by moltiplylag 77Si, the proportion of 1 10,614, to 
900,000,000 by 18,409, wUch la the dUferenoe of 40,417 and 85,096. 

e Hie prodoet— namely, of 4596, which if the difference of 89,480 and 97,9 18, 
into the proportion of the mortality of the London biUi to the general mortality 
of the world ; this saTing howerer wonld happen not in alz yean, bat in thirty 
years— the sapposed average period of the existence of a race of manlrfnd, 

d This term is nsedia contradiitinttioa to ff|/2Me9, and dasfgiMlea all aboTa 

the age of two years. 



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DKCUNE OF MMITAI. DISBASE8. 
TABLB IIL 



123 



IMSBISB. 


Number from 
ITVOto 1806. 


Number flrom 
I830tol8S5. 


DUforenooor deereate In 
Stzreeeotyetra. 


CooMmiptfoii (a) 


29,864 


26,260 


3604 


• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

: 

• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

i 


Dropiy 


«249 


478ff 


464 


Colie»DlwrlMBa, 
Worms 


184 


\U 


29 


FeT«n 


Il«n4 


SSXO 


Si45 


Goat 


M6 


198 


448 


^Mmdlee, tad 
Pl«wl«jt 


£11 


/ 377 


134 




1407 


1224 


183 


•iid8or»4hnMt 


387 


208 


IS9 



To this total, the addition of 2433 deaths from the diseases in 
Table ly (which is the diffeF^ice in the numbers of smalL-pox 
a^d convulsions, during the two periodft, which must hsFo 
ocGutred after infancy,) makes the true decrease in the disieases 
of ai&iltsy to be 13^809 in die course of the six recent years. 

The diseases among adults, which have recently ri$m m 
mortality. 

a Tbh tttm, tl hit been luppofled, eonpriies varioiis Ol-defined cties of 
dMiset fr«mi long Intanial dlteuet, and Iherefore Is i^^ 
of tbe mortaUtj ft€m pktkUU or pnlmomar^ eotmmption ; bot the author has 
saeertaiaed from the obaatfatloni of aoforal phyaiciaii&, that the deaths from 
I sf the huigt taken togstber, are quite equal to the proportion herein 



b Many of this nomber may have been cases 0t Mwppoud Intenud aortifl- 
cation; yet it is probable thai the greater part consists of external gangrene, 
wUdi is f ery prejalcnl Js ths ojergrown poor^hooses of tlie ■ e t fe p e l i s . 



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1^ 



DB. BLACKMORB ON THE RISE AHD 
TABLB IV. 



DI8BA8S. 


Nomber flrom 
I79fitol800. 


Number from 
1890 to 1835. 


DiiTerenee or in- 
crease in late yem 


Abseen 


\%S 


548 


363 


S 
1 

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

• 

: 

• 

• 

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

: 

• 
• 

: 

• 
• 
• 

• 


Apoplexy 


1384 


1672 


288 


Aged 


8155 


12,159 


4004 


ABOunaandPBlpitatfon 


3723 


4589' 


816 


Caneer 


'■ 365 


516 


151 


SjrileptyandSpMm 


• 20 


396 


376 


Eryiipelas and EroptiTa 
disorders 


11 


151 


140 


I4»er grown, and Stop- 
page of Stomach (a) 


87 


102 


75 


Haemorrhage, and 
AborOoii 


116 


195 


79 


Inllammations^tk^ 


2633 


10^7 


7734 


Hepadtis, or Inflamma- 
tion of.the UTer (e) 




540 


540 


Insanity and Palsy 


1185 


2024 


839 


Bheunalism 


22 


72 


50 


Serofda 


29 


65 


36 


Thmsh 


274 


462 


188 


Sadden death W 




1018 


1018 


Hernia or Ruptnres 


106 


191 


85 


Dropsy in Chest ^e^ 




465 


465 


Child-bed 


981 


1188 


207 



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DBCLtB^ OP MORTAL DtSEMES. ' 125 

On deducting from iSm total t>f increafle» the total of decrease 
in tlie fonner table there remain 4565, which is tihe amgmeiUed 
la$9 &f adkU lives in the latter period. But as tihe casualties 
are omitted in these two latter tables, a deduction should be 
made from the above number, which would educe the true 
difference, 3102, in the amount of adults in tihe two periods ; 
the total deaths in them being in the early period 80,913 ; in 
the later 84,075.* 



KOraf TO BBPiaSlfOM MM VABU IT. 

a Ph>btlily metiis dliesM of ths ihNMti sad Itfcr, with dkMjp^ 
in theio orgaiit--]ifayaottlieiobecaMfifliflroMwhwua8oertaliiodto be the 
htt by dJMcetloD I 

h I sappoM to mean inflflBUBBtory dUordan, both of Internal and external 
partf. 

e The eaaea of tUf disorder were probably plaeed among the clasi above it» 
in the earlier period; Itilargoinereaaeof kteyearinaybetfaereeuHofanew 
noBneaclatire, imrodBoed Ohm India I— or an ignonat reference of iU deftaed 
I to a wrong sonree. 



d Thiawu la the former period claned with apoplexy. 

e Formerly Indnded with general dropty. 

/ The author does not defend the terms which are adopted in these bills, nor 
does lie hold the rariations In otf the partleolar diseases which they exhibit to be 
strictly correct. In many instances, howeter, when the disease Is certainly and 
Tolgarly known, as apapUx^^ fever^ drvpty^ ean«itffioiit-'4he Tariatlons, ho 
oonoelfei, may be depended on. 

* In soma inttanoes, then, It is requisite to somMm the analogous diseases 
In these two tables, In order to ascertain the Tarlalions of each disorder.<-> 



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126 DR- Bf4ACKlfORB ON TH£ RISE AKD 

These Fariations then, are a deHionfteatioii <S£ the e3UBteBoe 
of a law of mortaliiy 9 within ixrtam BmitSf as it is propotuaded 
by Malthus-^hat a redvetion, of the deaths from one disease, 
is followed by a rise in some other! For whi}e the above tables 
manifest that some, both' in the adult and in the youn^, have 
fallen in mortality, they also evince that, ^ers haye at the 
same time risen; and a decrease in theldeathii amcug the 
young, has more or less, been counter-balanced by an increase 
in the mortality of adults. — ^The prc^rtion however, in the 
variations of mortality, is not so exact as absolutely to check 
the extension of human life, and the growth of population! 
For it is seen firom the very bills of mortality, apart from the 
registers of the population, that fewer persons now die in 
infancy than i^ the dose of the last century, and more dfe 
**agedP 

The text of Mr. Malthus requires a particular remark on 
the actual influence of the cow-pock on the general mortality. 
The decline in the small-pox in the course of six recent years, 
when compared with six earlier years, is seen in table L to be 
6165 ; the deaths in all ages from aU diseases being 116,760. 
From which decline alone, were it extended Aroughout the 
world, there would result a saving in the infant peculation of 

Bm this conftolon in the biUfli will not alfoet the renfi which the argnment in 
the text Ib founded on— the positive disparity in the amoimt of those diseases, 
in the two periods, which, forthemost part, ooenr In the adult. And if it be 
objected, that many of the diseases in these tables must contain ii(/aiiti— it Is 
replied, that the note b page 191, which shews that the total of diseases in the 
JirH tm0 iabUw surpasses the number of infants deceased in the seyeral periods, 
as well as the nature of the particular diseases, erinces that no deduction is to be 
made on this account which can aflbct the argument Moreoyer, the total 
amount of the diseases in these two latter tables combined with the numbers 
stated in the note, p. 191, are in the first period 78,886, and in the recent period 
89,941 ;~the difference of which nombers it aba 4665, thus yertiytog the text, 



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DBCLINE OF MORTAL DISEASES. 127 

nearly forty-eight mSKotis^ in an entire generation of nme 
hundred millions ! And as these require thirty years, in order 
to be swept away by death, there woold be co-existing in any 
present year, on thei whole face of the globe, one million five 
Irandred thousand infimts mere than in any year at the close 
of the last centmry ; supposing the marriages and bfarths to be 
only as numerous now vA them And eren this vast reduction 
in mortality does not comprehend the whole extent of the 
tamng pawerM efthe caw^etc^ for tfie decline in the iatedity 
of convulsions also, is truly owing to die partial extinction 
(would to God it coirid be said the complete extirpation !) of 
ike small-pox, which are often fatal in the stage of their erup- 
tion under that form. So vast wouU have been the gain to 
popuhaioHf had other h^faniile dkeates remained at the mme 
rate of mortaSty as thef formerly evinced. 

The authority of trutih, however, compels me to do homage 
to the prophetic acumen of Mahhtis; and forbids me to assent 
to the calculation of a French Philosopher, who states that 
twenty-five millions in a generation have aetualbf been saved 
to population, or what is equivaleni, that three years have been 
added to the value of life, by vaccination. — ^The enlargement 
of other channels of mortality has operated as a compensa- 
ting check on the multiplication of infimt lives. The infant 
population has indeed gained a vast accession, as well by a 
diminution of mortal diseases, as by an increase in the mar- 
riages and births. Fewer in&nts have perished !in the later 
period of six years, as compared with the earlier period, in 
the rate of twenty-seven millions in a generation: — ^the pre- 
servation of the mijority of whom is truly to be ascribed to 
the depression of the mortality from the small-pox, and from 
convulsions as connected with it. But the gain by this portion 
of the community has been met by a greater loss of adult lives; 
fai whom mortality (as it regards the relative amount of deaths 
from particular diseases in equal remote periods, but not m 



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1S8 



DR. BLACKMORB ON THE RISE AND 



reference to the existing popukaitMf) has risen in nearly an 
equal ratio to the decrease of deaths in the yoong !* 

It will next be interesting to mqnire how far tihe variations 
in the mortality of diseases at Plymouth correspond with the 
Ix>ndon variations, daring the periods before stated. These 
variations are obtained finom the r^^ister of the Public Dispell* 
sary, for the years 1799 to 1805, and for 1824 to 1826, inclu- 
sive, with that at the Author's practice during this lattar 
period. The total mortality in the former period was 321 ; 
and in the latter, 285. The deductions from so limited a scale 
are only preipunptively true, yet they form a useful nucleus 
for future observations, 

TABLE V. 



BISBISI. 


Mortality from 
1790 to 1805. 


Mortality from 
18Mtol897. 


FMUfe 
Nttmben 


Ratio 
toScncnl 
Mortdity. 


PodUve 
Nonben 


Ratio 
toOeneral 
M<rrtiiHty. 


Asasarca or Oeneral eztorrial 
Dropsy. 


9 


1:36 


9 


1:31.6 


Ascites, or Dropsy in theBoHy 


4 


1;80 


12 


1:23.7 


Asthma, or Disordered 
Respiration. 


I 


1:3S1 


13 


1:22 


Apoplexy. 


10 


I :32 


9 


1:31.7 



* This ratio truly expresses the saving of inflmt life within the sphere of tlie 
London bnis, and in to /or as these bills represent the tariations in the relatlye 
mortality of tiie yomg and ihb adsll In other parts of the Ungdom, or of the 
globe, the sereral ratles in the above taUas are an aoenrale criterion of dM pre- 
sent Increased Tilne sflnliuit llfci, and of the ?arisfioat In te raktive nort^ 
of particular diseases, hi the British empire, and hi the world at large. The 
oompletion of this iofic reqidres and amply merits the obsenratlon of phyUdaat 
In Tarions parts of the globe. 



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tABLB r. CONTINUE^. 



12» 



INMitI, 


Mortality from 
1700 to 1805. 


MorUUty from 
188Stol897. 


^odliTe 
mnDDen 


Skdo 
toOeneitl 
MortaUty. 


PodtiTe 
Numbers 


Ratio 

toOenenl 
MortaUty. 


OMVrl, or CoM in tk I^tuigf 






8 


It9« 


Cliol6r%Dlaithc4i^aiidDy8Ait0ry 


10 


1 :32 


19 


ltl« 


Pyilpe|ila,prI|Kfiffe*U<itt 






2 


1:142 


OttQ^Hr 






S 


1 :<7 


Giucdlds^ or DiiMUed HMrt 






7 


li40.7 


Gonruitio 





1:107 


10 


1:28 


Cynanche Trach(»alis, and 
LarytfgM, Or Strlddoos Sore 
Throat, and Loss of Voice 


1 


1:321 


6 


1:47.5 


Erysipeli^ 






3 


1:95 


Pibrit 


96 


Ii«.7 


19 


1:15 


•OOfflS^^P"^ 


1 


1:321 


20 


i>ie 


^FastrMs, o^ ImflanlmiMioii In 
theStoiwe^ 






8 


1:47 


Hydrothorax, or Prepay In 


4 


1:80 


7 


1:40,7 


B]ipod from the i;ii]i|:t 


2 




i 





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ide 



DB. BLACKMORE ON TBB BISB JOiU 
TABIDS V. CONTINUED. 



DISEASE. 


MorlaUty from 
1799 to 1805. 


Mortality from 
1828 to 1897. 


Podtiye 
Numbers 


Ratio 
to General 
Mortality. 


PotitlT. 

Nnmben 


Batlo 
toCteneral 
MoruUty. 


Murcor; or Dedine. 


9 


1 :d6 


9 


ItSS 


MorbUU, or Measles 


6 


1:53,5 


U 


1:26 


Perliuali, or Hooping Cough 


9 


1:36 


S 


I: £7 


Pneumonia, Pleoritis, and 
Dyspno^or Diseased Lungs 
from Inflammation 


38 


1:8.5 


S3 


1.S.4 


Phthids, or Consumption 


7S 


1:4.3 


SO 


1.6.7 


Phrenitis and Hydrocephalus, 

or Inflammation, with 

Water in the Brain 


4 


1:80 


23 


1:12.4 


Peritonitis, or Inflammation in 
the BeUy. 






8 


1:35.6 



The diseases whose positive or absolute mortality is presumed 
to have risen in Plymouth, of late years, are a$Miarca and 
aseitesj asthma^ pneumonia^ catarrh^ water in the chett^ apo^ 
plexy^ diarrhceoj and cholera^ diseases of the stomach, and 
hearU cancer, convulsions^ cr<mp^ erysipelas, inflammations 
generally, mesenteric disease, or decline in children, measles, 
and phrensy fever. Those which have fallen, are fevers, 
hooping cough, consumption, and the smalUpox. 

From these columns it appears that the following diseases 
are accordant in their variations here and in London : — phthisis, 
variola, febris, pneumonia and injlammations in general, hydrom 
thorax f asthma and dyspnoea, apoplexia, catarrh, diseases of 



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' DBCLtNB OF IfOttTAL DISEASES. 131 

the hearty and sudden deatkj dyspepsia^ erytipelaSf measles^ 
scarloHna^ tabes mesentericaj and scrofula^ the croup j and can^ 
cer. A few diseases are discordant: — ascites^ diarrhcsoy eho* 
kfOi cammkionsj pertussis. The rise of conrukionB and 
diarrhoea here, is in part connected with the great ^»read of 
the smalUpox and the measles in this town during the last 
few years. Plymouth is, however, at all times peculiarly 
prolific in bowel complaints. 

The principle which I proposed to illustrate, is, then, amply 
confirmed by the variations in particular mortal diseases as 
they were incident on all ages indiscriminately. — There k 
another mode in which the constancy of mortality is manifested, 
namely, in the equaliied distribution of death over different 
ages at various periods— collating distant periods of life witlu 
out distinguishing the particular mortal disease. — In whatever 
period mortality falls lighter on some certi^in ages, it is found 
to fall heavier on other ages in that period ; and if at a subse- 
quent period it is lessened on these latter ages, it is increased 
on the ages where before it was lighter ! So that whenever 
death is n^ore prevalent In the young, the effect of this on 
population is compensated by the life of the adult being 
prolonged ; — ^fewer deaths then happen in middle life ; more 
persons survive to old age ! A saving of the infant, on the 
contrary, is at the expense of the adult; — ^a reduced loss of 
adults is at the expense of infant life — and so r^^larly is this 
constancy of mortality sustained by a corresponding rise and 
fidl in the. various, means of deadi, that it is to be deemed 
A LAW— a fixed rule of actioE^ — the course of Nature — the 
plan of Divine Providence. *. 

* It should be remembered that this priadple of baUnee or oompensatioii is 
alBrmed to be trae only fai reference to the rtlative prnportion ^ particular 
'wunial.dUeaMSs among each other; and that this law of mortality is not so 
absolute as to maintain an equal and inyariable amount 'of deaths in reference 
to the ezistbif popalatibn, at certain diiferent periods. 



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168 



OB. OLMIMOWi ON 709 VHW WO 



In or^ td illwtrfda wkb tsome preeniw tli^ «q«alwiitt9^ 
Jo the allptaeet of death iii various ages. I hare fonqad a t^ble 
£rom the hoadon bilk, which exhibits the propw^on of deathf 
infivtn portions Of life |o the gc^ttal iBert»lit]r< imiv^ UlP 
f ollowi^ periods df titne } 

TABliE VI. 



A9S. 



Below Syn. 



FromStotf 



— 5 to 10 



— 10to20 



— 80to30 



—30 to 40 



— 40to50 



—50 to 60 



—60 to 70 



—70 to 80 



—80 to 90 



Periods omme— I4OMDOI1B11.LS 
Ut0.16.U. UaMt^t, UB-M-V. 



It3.34 



1:8.77 



1:23.8 



I:l{9.19 



I'K.S 



l:I0.6ti 



1:9.98 



1:11.9 



1:12.9 



ltl«.59 



1:41.1 



1:4.008 



1:9.4 



1:20.07 



1:28.12 



1:13.04 



1:9.89 



1:9.32 



1:9.80 



1:9. 4i 



1:13.79 



1:25.87 



1:3.29 



PCTMOUTH BiLU FOR 
THE LATTBR rSRIOO. 



1:10.10 



1:26.68 



1:25.8 



1:14^8 



1:12.6 



1:11.16 



1:11.41 



1:11.53 



1(2.85 



1:8.8 



1:21.19 



1:21.64 



1:18.14 



1,12.7 



1:15.14 



1(15. 1 



1 15.1 



1 13,.'^ 1:12,5 



1:45.811:28.2 



1:8.'6 



1:6.5 



1:19.4 



1>30 



1:26.7 



1:24.8 



1>2».5 



l>lt.S 



1:12.4 



M5.8 



)<40 



l*2.Sfl 



l:T.f 



1:20.7 



1>24.5 



1:19. a 



1:16 



1:17. e 
1(14.4 

1>1; 
1>13«4 
1>39.«. 



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INBCUNB OF mOfKlAL UWAiBS^ IgB 

On oollafci]^ aowe fom ef then seetions, fox ezaiMple, two 
of duUhdod with two 4)7 »ud»od, we fiad Aat in Ae tort 
period mortality was higher in the youngs and lower in the 
adalts— in the next, it was higher in the adult, and lower in 
Iheyfiwg in Ito katpiariad «boit was higiiin the child, and 
Ti^ry Ldw in the agtd. 

Death nevter iUls coiripai&tiydy lighter or heayier on all 
ages at the aave time: immunity in one age is coimterbalanoad^ 
as to population, by a faeayiittr load of mortality on another* So 
admirably equal is the infliction of death on the irarioos periods 
of human life tfarougfaent a given aeries of ysiars. 



On comparing the mortality at Plymoisith and Loudon < 
the last of the above periods, we remark that fewor deadhs 
occurred here in the age from 40 to 50 — the ratio being as 1 
in 17. 8 (Plymouth,) is to 1 in 11 .16, (London.) Whereas in 
infimcy more died here, relatively to Ae tottl mortality, than 
inLondon;a8lin2.68is to 1 ind.d9» This is an awful fact! 
a9 London has always been regarded as, preweminpntly^ dm 
9cp9iicnT€ o^ wn(6 yeMMf* A uc TCTy nign moTtattty Of miants m 
this district was then owipg to dbe frightful ravages o( th^ 
tneades iemd the small-pox* 

Thus far we have fllustrated the constancy of the reign of 
4eadu**-I shall next display its BQUALisAnofi among various 
lages and sexes* 

The Sovereign Arbiter of human life and death compensates 
to society fpr the greater severity of disease #nd death in one 
agf% and sex, a| a particular period, by the then comparativo 
immunity of another age and sex from their ravages. Tho 
system of comtpensation and check, in the relative proportion 
of mortal ^yseasesi is as aMrfcedo ndwynlar iiAeliwr rfAeir 



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134 



DR. BLAOUIORB ON THE RISE AND 



This eqaalisation is exhibited-— First, in that a rise in the 
relatire mortality and frequency of diseases is not in the $ame 
ratio. 

In order to elucidate this position, I institute a comparison 
betwixt Dr. Woollcombe's Register of Diseases and Deaths, 
for seven years, from 1799 to 1806, which comprises 4409 cases 
of disease and 321 deaths, and a register formed by combining 
the Dispensary practice for three late years, comprising 2390 
cases of disease and 1 12 deaths, with dut of my private practice 
during the last four years, which contains 3282 cases and 173 
deaths; the combined register therefore includes 5672 instances 
of disease, and 285 deaths. The following conclusions, being 
formed from a scale of 10,081 cases of disease, and 606 deaths, 
may deserve some confidence. . 



J 



TABLE Vn. 



Exhibiting the variations of the principal fatal diseases in 
this town in relative frequency and morttdity, foir the before 
assigned periods. 



DISEASE. 


Frequency 

PowtWe 
Namben. 

1799. 1813. 
IJMft. 18S7. 


Mortality 

PotiUve 
NomlMn. 

1799. 1833. 
180&. 1837. 


Rebtire Frequency 

to ttptgtUot 

Dimn. 

I7W.I806. 181}. inr. 


Relatire Mortelity, 

or Narober of 
DeeeuedtotheSick. 

1799. 1806. 1833. 1887. 


l.A8tlra»,Dy8piisa, 
Fneomonia, 
Catarrhos 


572 


946 


40 


69 


1;T.T 


1:6 


1:14.5 


UlS.} 


9. Phthisis 


J 98 


137 


75 


50 


1:22.3 


1:41.4 


1:2.7 


1:2.5 


8. Hemoptysis 


27 


39 


2 


1 


1:163 


1:115.4 


1:13.5 


1 :39 


4,Hydrothorax 


10 


15 


4 


7. 


I:4404> 


1 :378 


1:2.5 


1:2.14 


5.Pertiisds 


60 


3] 


9 

- 


i 


1=73.4 


1:183 


l:6v6 


!:«.« 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DECLINE <>F MORTAL DISBASES. 
TABLE VII. CONTINUED. 



136 



DISEASE. 


Freijaeiicy 

io 

Pom tire 

Nam oen. 

1799. 18i3. 
1805 18S7. 


Bloitallty 

(n 
PowtlTC 
Nmnbcrt, 

I7W. Itt% 
1805. 18ST.' 


RektWe Freaaency 

1710. I80& uaxiflsr. 


Relatire Hortalitj, 

or Number of 
OeceiiedtotheSick. 

1799; 1806. lan. 1817. 


6.MorbiUi 


71 


88 


6 


u 


1:62 


1:64.5 


1:12 


1:8 


7. Apoplezia 


12 


17 


10 


9 


1:367.4 


1:334 


1:1.2 


1:2 


8. Convulsio 


9 


35 


8 


10 


1:488.8 


1:162 


1=3 


1'3.5 


9. Phrenids, and 
Hydrocephalus 


9 


108 


4 


20 


1=488.8 


1:52.5 


1:2.25 


1=5.4 


Anasarca, Ascites 


112 


87 


13 


21 


1:39 


1:65.2 


1:9 


1 = 4 


Erysipelas 


11 


30 




3 


1:400.8 


1:189.6 


= 11 


1=10 


Diarrhcea,Cholera, 
Dysenteria 


304 


385 


10 


19 


1:14.5 


1=14.7 


1=30.4 


1:20.3 


CoUca,Constipatio 


60 


131 


1 


2 


1:73.5 


1:43.3 


1:60 


1=65.5 


Tabes Mesenterica 


31 


32 


9 


6 


1:142.2 


1:177 


1 = 3.4 


1=5.3 


Peritonitis, 
Enteritis 


2 


237 


1 


30 


1:2204 


1:24 


1=2 


1=7.9 


Variola 


112 


37 


46 


9 


1=39 


1:154 


1.-2.4 


1=4.1 


Seariatliia 


68 


21 


5 


1 


1:69.6 


1:270 


1=12.6 


1:21 


FebrU 


487 


400 


56 


19 


1:9 


1=14.8 


1 = 9.74 


1=20.1 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



186 I>B> Bt.ACKMOBB M OSB Sttfe AMD 

HABht Vlt CdKTIlfrtSa). 



DI8BA8B. 


Numben. 

ttM. Att. 
1S0». I8S7. 


PoJtin 
NwabciA 

rm. latt.' 


RditinPMquncy 
taAnrcfiUor 

DIMM. 

l7«l».tBD<k na&lnr. 


•r Danberof 

in».i8(». itaa.uBa 


DisetseiofLiuifi 


807 


lis? 


121 


,« 


I:«.4 


1:5 


1:6.6 


1:8.9 


3r«lii,of7,6,9,wiai 
Chorea, fipilepsy, 
Pdsy, Mania 


1«4 


£31 


18 


40 


1:26.9 


1:10.6 


1:9 


1 13.2 


HMrt 


6 


48 


I 


7 


1:735 


M18 


1:6 


1:7 


Skilly fte. 


444 


541 


8S 


25 


1:9.9 


1:10.5 


1:7.65 


1:21.6 
1:24.3 


StOQiadk 


261 


607 




2i 


1:17 


1:9.8 


0:261 


UteatfoM 


492 


827 


27 


57 


1:8.9 


1:6.8 


J:I8.3 


1:14.5 



A <^ofiiparidoii of the96 columns skews that of late years in 
diis town diseases of the lungSf of the bram^ and of the heart, 
hflemoptoe, apoplexy, conFuIsions, water in the brafD, colic 
and inflammations in the intestines, have rUen in Jrequeiuy but 
fallen tn relaiibe mortaKiy > whereas, pluki$iSf measkij drapey, 
Harrhmj cholera and dyientety taken together, and pertnsns, 
luwe/atleninJVejuency andrtseninmartcilUy. Some diseases, 
on the other hand, ha^e risen both in fre^qaency and relative 
mortality; — ^for example, inflammations in the lungs, hydro- 
thorax, ascites, choletm, dyspepsia, etysiplelas^ and diseases of 
the stoitech and intestines ; while tabes mesetfterica, ferer, tbd 
«inalI*pox, Bcarblina, and dneaiBes of the skin taken lagpather^ 
have fallen in frequency and mortality ! 

Secondly, the equalisation in the reign of disease and deaths 
is ermced in the Sfference qf the raie as to frequency and 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



DJ&CLINB OF MORTAL DI8BA8E8. 



137 



mortality in which diseases are incident on various ages and 
sexes. 

JPirst, as it respects the reign of disease and death in the 
6BXES ; — ^the greater prevalency of a disease in one sex, is 
compensated by its having a smaller relative mortality than in 
the other sex, which is found to be less liable to that disease. 
TABLE VUI. 



DISSA8I8. 


Total i» botk$e*u 

or 
Diiease. Deaths. 


PBOPOBTIOM IN 

NALi or 
Diseaae. Deaths. 


PBOPORTIOM IN 

DIaeMe. Deaths. 


Aicites, Anasarcft 


88 


21 


22 


8 


66 


13 


CarditiB 


48 


7 


30 


4 


18 


3 


Cholerm 


88 


S 


34 


4 


51 


1 


DiarrhoM 


268 


13 


IfiO 


7 


118 


6 


Bnteritis 


138 


22 


60 


12 


78 


10 


Phrenitls, Hydro- 
cephalus 


110 


25 


60 


13 


50 


12 


MorbiUi 


88 


11 


£4 


4 


34 


7 




496 


45 


235 


28 


261 


17 


FeriloniUs 


99 


8 


24 


3 


75 


5 


Plenritis, Plenro- 
dyne 


112 


8 


42 


4 


70 


4 



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138 



DR. BLACKMOEB OM THB RIBB AMD 
TABLE VIII. CONTINUED. 



DISEASES. 


Totalinbotkteset 

or 
Direase. Deaths. 


PBopoanoM IN 

MALBOV 

Disease. Deaths. 


PBOMBTIOK III 

wtMJLhM or 
Disease. Deaths. 


Febris 


402 


19 


166 


9 


236 


10 


MarMmus 


59. 


9 


24 


6 


35 


3 


IMseMM of the 
Longs 


1119 


125 


503 


61 


616 


64 


Stomadi 


£89 


7 


151 


3 


438 


4 


IntesUnet 


518 


37 


250 


19 


268 


18 


Brain* 


264 


34 


132 


17 


132 


17 



* The addition of Innoeaons Headache, which la hr more preraleDt in the 
female, would make the apparent ezoepaon in the last lection accord with tbe 
principle. 

Some of the above numbers do not correspond with those in the precedinf 
table, as rtie distinction of sex was not noted in many of the unimportant cases 
contained in that table. 

Secondly f the same principle obtains in the allotment of 
diseases and their mortality as it respects different a^et;— a 
disease lias not the greatest tendency to a mortal issue in the 
age which is most liable to that disease.— -A novel and impor- 
tant fact. 



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DKCUNS OF MORTAL DISiBASBS. 
TABLE IX. 



139 



DISEASE* 


MOST DlSBASnO 
▲OB. 


HOMBBB 
OF 

Sick.D«thi 


MOST 

BBLATITBLT 

MOBTAL AgB. 


MUMBBB 
OF 

Sick. Dtttha 


Anasarca, Asdtds 


From so to 80 


16 


4 


From 40 to 50 


14 


5 




PDeomonia, *| 
Afthma, y 
Catarrh J 


OF CHILDBOOO. 

The First 6 yean 

the first ten 

From 80 to 40 


908 
989 
190 


80 

80 

5 


The first year 

and 

first ten years 


86 


18 




(Carditis 


From 40 to 50 


18 


9 


From 80to40 









ApoplezU 


From 50 to 60 


4 


9 


From 40 to 50 


8 






Conmlslo 


first year 


11 


6 


From 9 to 5 


5 






Cholera 


ilrst year 
First ten yeajps 


16 

97 


1 
1 


First year 
From 40 to 50 


16 
17 


1 
J 




DIarrtNM 


First ten ••• 

Second year 

From 80 to 40 


171 
71 
97 


10 

9 
9 


First ten 
From 9 to 5 


171 
90 


10 




Erysipelas 


From 80 to 40 


7 


1 


From 90 to 80 


6 






DyspepsU 


Ditto 


118 





• •• 50 to 60 


40 






Enteritis 


From 9 to 5 
First ten 


97 
79 


5 
19 


First year 
From 10 to 90 


8 
8 


8 




Gastritis 


From 90 to 80 


85 


1 


F^om60to70 


14 


9 




Hepatitis, letems 


From 90 to 80 


84 





From 50 to 60 


9 


9 




Morbini 


From 9to5 


84 


9 


First year 





8 




Plenritls, 1 
Plearodjne / 


From 90 to 80 


40 


9 


From 40to50 


18 


1 




Phthlds 


From 80 to 40 


45 


16 


From 40to50 


95 


18 





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140 



DR. BLACUfORB ON THB RMB AND 
TABLE IX. (X)NTINUED. 



DISBASBS. 


MOST DISBASBD 
▲OB. 


XUMBBB 
OP 

Sick.I>etths. 


MOST 
RBLATITBLT 
MOBTAL AOB. 


NUMBBB 

OF 

8ick.D«thl. 


PeritonitiB 


From SO to 40 


88 


9 


From 60 to 60 


4 


1 


Pbrenltls 1 
Hydrocephalus J 


From9 to 6 
first Uto 
first ten 


17 
87 
64 


6 
7 
10 


From 9 to 6 

• •• 6to 10 

• •• 80to40 
...40to60 


17 
17 

7 

9 


6 
8 

8 
9 


PertoflBis 


From 9 to 6 


18 


8 


Second year 


8 


I 


Rhenmatisiii 


From BO to 40 


64 





From 40 to 60 


41 


1 


Febris 


First ten years 
FromlOtoSO 
.••90 to 80 


116 
08 

78 


9 
7 
6 


From 16to90 

• ••90 to SO 

• ..80to40 


61 

78 
64 


6 
6 
8 


Diseues of Longs 


First year 

first ten 

From 80—40 


99 

977 
907 


14 
84 
99 


Second year 
..•40to60 


81 
148 


14 
90 


Btomaeh 


From 80 to 40 


184 




First ten 
From 60 to 70 


60 
40 


8 
9 


IntafUnes 


Second year 
First ten 
From 80 to 40 


06 

978 

69 


6 
98 

8 


First year 
Flrom9to 6 
..•10to90 


84 
68 
48 


7 


8 


Brain 


From 9 to 6 

First ten 
• ••80 to 40 


96 
06 
41 


4 
17 

8 


First year 

From 40 to 60 

. ••60 to 60 


98 
98 
18 


6 
6 

4 



It may be remarked tbat I have not taken equal periods of 
time in the seyeral ages for ccmiparison, but what are presumed 
to be equal proportional ages in respect of their liability to 
disease:— the first year, the second, the next three, the next 
five, and all subsequent tens, mfiy be supposed to be nearly 
equal as to the susceptibility of the body for assuming, or as 
to its powers of resisting disease. 

T&trd/y , the equalisation of mortality is shewn in that, if in 
any period there is an increase of deaths in a certain age, there 
is a proportionate decrease in that age at a subsequent period ! 



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DECLINE or MORTAL DI8BA8B8. 141 

In the parish of St Andrew, for example, the rate of deaths 
in infants to the whole mortality, was in the years 

1823-24-in 24-25— in 2&.26— in 26.27. 
As 1:3 1:2.76 1:2.96 1:3.8. 

Now by the London bills it appears that the average rate of 
deaths in infimts to the general mortality is 1 : 3.44 or 1 : 3. 28. 
So that whereas the rate of infant mortality here in 1824-1825 
and in 1825-26 surpassed that of London, in the following year 
it was reduced below it; an extraarJBMory lou in ike farmer 
years being ccmpeneated in the loiter by an extraor£narjf pr^ 
servationt 

The Third Part of my subject is an oiquiry into the 
CAUSBS of this constancy of mortality ; what explication can 
be assigned for the yariation in mortal diseases? 

In the tables of those cognate diseases which hare seyendly 
riaefa or fidlen in mortality at the present period, we remark 
an order of anomalies, and an order of harmonies. Those I 
term eognatef or kindred diseases, which possess a natural affi- 
nity,as being situated in the same part of the body^or as pos-» 
aessing a similarity in their pre-disposing and exciting causes. 

First, of the anomalous Tariations, or those which are iu 
imposition to that natural affinity above described, — ^I offer 
examples in the rise of apoplexy, palsy, insanity and epilepsy, 
with the fall of couTulsions— the rise of asthma and scrofula, 
with the fall in consnmption-^-the rise of water in the brain, 
with the fell in convukions— the rise of water in the chest, 
with the fall in consumption— the rise in diseases of the sto- 
mach, with the fiJl in the gout and stone— 4he rise of inflamma- 
tions, with the fall of feyers— the rise of hepatitis, with the iUl 
of jaundice— 4he rise of the thrush, with the fall in teething 
and diarrhoea* 



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14f DR. BLACKMOaB ON THB RISB AND 

Second^ of harmoniouB variations we have examples 
in the concurrent increase of apoplexy, insanity, palsy, and 
spasm — of death in childbed, and of abdominal inflammations — 
of diseases of the stomach, head and heart, with sudden death— 
of rheumatism, inflammations, and bleedings— of scrofula, 
insanity, hooping cough, and water in the brain— <of hydro- 
thorax, inflammations, and croup— *of cancer, and diseases of 
the stomach. Again, in the decUne of the mortality from 
jaundice and gout — scarlatina and sore throat — ^fevers and 
mortification — ^teething and diarrhoea — convulsions and small- 
pox. Lastly, in the increase of deaths termed * aged,^ with the 
decline in mortification, stone, dysentery, and gout— in the 
increase of inflammations, with the decline in mortification 
and the dropsy. 

Whatever variations admit of solution by natural causes, 
can be referred only to three cfarcumstances : — ^first, to changes 
in public manners ; secondly, to vicissitudes of climate ; or 
thirdly, to revolutions in the science and art of medicine. 

To the first we might refer the variations in gout, apoplexy, 
insanity, and sudden death. The prevailing character of the 
last age was sensual; in the present, a devotion to the voluptu- 
ous passions of the mtiuf, more particularly, that fescinating 
desire of personal agg^iiandisemeat which pervades all claaees 
of society, has supplanted the g^tification of the grosser 
appetites of man's animal nature; and where the latter had 
slain its thousands, the former has slain its tens of thousands ! 

Can we ascribe the variations in fevers, inflammations, measles, 
hooping cough, &c. to changes in the seasons, combined with 
changes of general manners ; (ht, what is the same in efiect, to 
changes in our modes and means of obviating the vicissitudes 
of climate f For the increase in the class of infantile disorders 
some philosophers have assigned the circumstance of the 
decline in the small-pox having left more infants surviving to 



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DBOUNE OF MHITAL DISEASES. 14) 

beeome their yictiiiw. It is a curious fact, that the whole 
mimber who appear from the Loadon bills to have died of the 
croup, of water in the brain, of hooping cough and measles, 
in the later period above defined, nearly equals those whom 
the smaU^Mn, convulsions, and teething had failed to carry 
-off! 

Thirdly, revolutions in medicine may have effected the rise 
n die desiffnaiums of chronic pneumonia, and the fall in con- 
sumption — the rise in abdominal inflammations, and the fall of 
dropsy in the belly— the mew creation in the London bills of 
hqHUiHif and of hydrothorax — the rise of abscess, and the fall 
of mortifications. Some of these changes are explained by the 
supposition of different names being assigned at different 
periods to the same disease — the variation being nominal only ; 
others express a positive rise or fall, and thus exemplify the 
triumphs of the present advanced powers of medicine. 

The varialion in wfbmmaiians merits a particular remark, 
Ifaey being stated in the bills to be quadrupled in the course 
of the last six years. This I refer in part to a change in the 
medical distinctions and designations of disease ; partly also 
to an alteration in the condition and habits of the people, who 
now have better food and habitations than formerly, and there- 
Are are less disposed to diseases of debility ; partly, however, 
to a law of Divine Providence, by which a general decline in 
co-incident mortal diseases is not permitted. 

It is pleasing to remark how much more smoothly the 
stream of mortality has been flowing in late years. At the 
present time the annual bills seldom show a disparity of more 
Aan twelve hundred deaths, whereas at the beginning of the 
century we find a variation from one to six thousand; 
such m serious, disparity must have severely deranged the 
course of social life. The present equality of death is owing 
to the check which a general improv^nent in the manners 



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144 DR* BLACKMORB ON THE RIBB AND 

and coiiditioii of the nation, the advanced state of mediein^ 
and the merciful ^fiat^^ of Divine Proyidenee, liaTe placed or 
pettileniial fevers^ and the tmaU^x. 

Many of the foregoing^ rariations admit of easy and natural 
explication ; in others we do not discern a natmal causation. 
Epidemic diseases, such as fevers, measles, and hooping cou^, 
prevail at particular seasons only, and with unequal rates of 
mortality, and having run their course declineandexpire. Why 
they are not at all times equally prevalent is a mystery ; they 
come without human anticipation, add at times repd Ae best 
directed efforts of human skilh Is it unphilosophical to resolve 
their revolutions into the good pleasure of the Almighty, who 
saith, <<Thus ihr shall ye go, and no farther'';— who <<taketh 
away the breath of man and he dies.'' The political econo* 
mist sees only cme cause of the grei^er mortality of certain 
diseases when some others are confined within narrower dwn^ 
nels^ ^ The damming up a necessary outlet of mortality, which 
engenders poverty,"— -which issues in disettae and death. It 
cannot be questioned that the pr^^rtion of the means of 
subsistence to the necessities of a people will ultimately r^^ 
late their general well-being; but no political necessity finr 
death can regulaie the ehmmeb of m&rialiijft or maintain such 
a disparity betwixt the means of life and the existing popubi» 
tion, as is requinte to generate poverty and mcNrtal maladiw. 
Certain epidemics may have had for thehr precursoraan unnsoal 
scarcity of provisions^ or a> state of deep public calamity ; there 
are, however, unquestionably, many adult as well as infimtile 
diseases whose rise and fall cannot be traced to any previous 
abundance or pover^ of the means of subsiBtoaee, nor to an 
extraordinary course of the seasons. If saeh a principle as 
<<the plan of Divine Providmce respecting human life and 
death" be not admitted, might we not expect that tfaysse canses 
which tend to elevate or depress a di s ease as to.ite fiequency 
should nntt&iri^ effect tit role ^siena%y^That this is mrt 
the feet has been demonstrated. 



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raCUiiJB or MWTAL DI8BAU8. }45 

The famfik isfiur more tfie subject of diieaie than the mde, 
while he is more exposed tkui she is to some diseases of high 
oiortality ; yet the muabers of each sex who die aimaally are 
sngolarly equal! 

If then the proTmleaee of disease and death be the ineyitable 
allotttmit of a snpeniatnral power is the art of medicine nnga^ 
torjr^^By no means: the arrangements of Divine Prpyidoice 
hare established an infiUlible connexion betwixt certain means 
and their ends; and the moral rdatioai of man eiyoin the ex* 
ertion of his powers for self^^ireservntion. None <^ the general 
laws of nature exclude particular exceptions. Human efibrts 
may not greatly lessen the aggregate of mortality, nor extirpate 
mat dkninish fuiy one mortal disease without a coaseqamt rise 
i* some other; they oan howerer aiter the seai of Us diitribu^ 
lion, confine the ritnge o^ a violent and agonising disorder, 
and thus favour the rise of a milder substitute ;-«-they can open 
niMserous ehanoes of life to individual suffisrers, extend its 
vdue iti the •fgte^itt and mightily influrace the whole 
conditien of society. 

One cnnnot but aiimiiB the merdftri wisdom which variom 
IJsfif in the means of ^aA display r-^-^tbe load of suflbriog is 
thus not permitted constantly to fidl on die samn age and sex^ 
bnt is distributed by a rule of c<mipensation and equality over 
the whnle- range of human life. The law, moreover, which by 
the constant reign of mortal diseases forbids the miyority of 
mankind to attain to a late old age, is the means of maintaining 
a rapod s a c o essi o n of living beii^pi^ and of conducing to the 
J09tk and vigour of the world's population. Should death 
^ease from a land^ in the present constitution of the world, 
while the propagation of mankind is unchecked, misery and 
poverty would rapidly increase in an awful proportion. The 
extinction of the few beoomes a means of the greater well* 
being of the many who survive. 



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146 I>R. BLACKMORB ON THB RISE AKD 

A survey of the poeitive ratio in which mortality is inddent 
on various ages discovers a system equally benignant^— *In 
infancy nearly a third of mankind die— in early chOdhood, 
from the age of two to five years, a ftm^A-— 4n die second stage 
of childhood, or from five to ten years of age, only a twenty^ 
third — in youth, from ten to twenty years, a twenty^sevmth — 
in early manhood, or from twenty to thirty, a Jburteenth — in 
middle or mature manhood, from thirty to forty, a tenth — 
in late manhood, from forty to fifty, a mnth — ^in early old age, 
from fifty to sixty, more than a tenth — in middle old age, from 
sixty to seventy, not an ekventh-^in late old age, one twenty^ 
sixth. 

In the first twenty years of life the proportion of deaths to 
the general mortality is 1 : 2 • 12 ; in the next twenty, it is 
1:6.3; in the third twaity years, 1:16,7!* 

Herein are the vestiges of an admirable protecting Provi- 
dence, which offers to the hand of death in larger numbers the 
least useful and least expensive members of the population, at 
a period when fewer relations and more confined faculties 
make the connexion of those devoted ones with the living 
world less indispensable, and therefore their loss more toler- 
able ; at a period, too, when their departure hence is a certain 
pledge of their passage to a better state, while the more 
necessary and precious members of the community are diel- 
tered from the mortal dart. 

The aspect of death as a HtdrAi the excision of one of 
whose heads is instantly succeeded by a new one, is awfully 
impressive. Yet the contemplation of mortality as regulated 

* This estimate is derived from the London bills for nine years ; bow ftu* 
it expresses the relatlYe mortality of these portions of lifs^in the general popu- 
lation, the author hw no means of ascertaining. 



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DEOLINB OF MOKTAL DISEASES. 147 

by a determmate controUing Proiridence whose administration 
18 eqoal and kind^ beneath which the fortunes of men are so 
connected and campeHsaied that the decease of one person 
augments the chances of life for another, greatly mitigates 
the sad impression from the constancy of the reign of death; 
and it should strengthen man's acquiescence in his destiny by 
its appeal to the sentiment of patriotism as well as of religion. 
The Genius op Medicine himself cannot dry up the bitter 
waters of mortality : the mortal poison is being endlessly 
changed with every change of age and season. This constancy 
amid mutation should teach man that he lives by the will of 
a Supreme Power; it should become to him an unceasing 
stimulus to mutual succour, as it creates inexhaustible scope 
for his sympathy ; it should place a potent check on human 
passions, and supply omnipotent motives to sober living. Death 
cannot cease to reign coeval with the existence of man in a 
fallen world : no mortal disease however is invincible, and the 
hope of arresting human sufferings is unlimited. 

Filially, a period and a state are approaching when it shall 
no more be said,-*-^/ am sick:** for **there shall be no more 
fkaihr 



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IJB 



DB. BLACKMOBS ON TBS BI0X AMD 



APPENDIX. 

A View of the Mortality at Plymouth, which has been 
obtained from the Register of Buriak in the parish of Saint 
Andrew, for the inspection of which I am indebted to my 
friend the Rererend John Hatchard ; and from that of the 
Ptoish of Charles, which Mr. Rickard, the Parish Clerk, has 
presented to me. 



I 



Sl 






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i 



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k 



II 



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M 



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11 



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9t 



068 ^OS 



S8 



sss 






ss s; 



S3 S3 



;S 



••• SS 



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;s ss 



i9 9S SS 8S S 



SS; 9$ 83 7S 



i3 SS 98 98 



98 SiS 88 SS 




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raBQLINB 09 MORTAL DISBASlti. 
TABLE II. 



149 



The Months pUioed in the 
of their greater Mortality, 



MOlfTat. 


JCUMBBB 

or 

DBATHB. 


June 


918 


May 


904 


AngVt 


180 


July 


188 


Mareh 


186 


Fehmary 


186 


January 


181 


April 


174 


September 


17t 


October 


167 


December 


1A6 


MoTember 


150 





8l[|n0QI Zfl PIOQ 



2 S S S 
•» el Qi ^ 






I 






49|Jin5 leiJin^ 






XOTBB OH THB Pimvr THRU VABLBf . 

and winter, tiie greiftest ^ttqparity ezisti hi the mortality of the 



two pariahee. Charlea' parish i 



I peeoliarly lenient in the mortality of the 



i In St. Andrew^ is tfMi 



r; the least Is the 



Tlie most mortal a 
winter* 

In Charles*, the sommer Is the most mortal; the least «o Is the i 

In winter, the greatest disparity subsists in the mortality of the male and 
fooale; in the antnmn the least* 

In summer is the highest mortality in both seses; In aMnm the least. 

In May and Jtme was the BMoimam of mortality In both seams; In Noran- 
ber and December the least. In Febnmry and Oetober there was the greatest 
disparity in the mortdity of the male Mid taile ; k Septomber and Janiary the 
least. 



Digitized by VjOOQIC 



15D 



DR. BI.ACKMOItB ON THB RISE AND 







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DBGUXE Of MORTAL DISEASES. 



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laS WL BLACKMOKE OH THE KIBB AMD 

The first table, when c<»npared with a similar one drawn up 
by Dr. WooUcombe for the years 1799 to 1804, exhibits a 
remarkable change to have taken place in the relative mor- 
tality of the seasons of late year% in this town* Then, the 
wmiers were severe, and pre-eminent in mortality ; now, they 
are mild, but the sprmg andsmmer have been pregnant with 
fatal epidemics. This accords with» and is explained by, the 
recent increase in the mortality of particular diseases stated in 
the essay at Table IX. 

The above tables demonstrate that the spring and autumn 
are relatively more mortal to the female, but the winter and 
sunimer to tiie male sex. The pre-eminent mortality of the 
nmmer seasoH^ and the disparity in the deaths in the la$t and 
the first quarters of the year, as exhibited in Tables I and III, 
is very remarkable. From Table III the combined mortality 
of the winter and spring is such as to be exactly equal with 
that of the summer and autumn ; which fact may be supposed 
to confirm popular opinion on the salubrity of this climate in 
the cold portion of the year; and encourages the resort of 
invalids to this part of the kingdom. 

What can explain the singular disparity of the deaths in the 
male and female sex during the period of infancy, as seen in 
Table IV? 

It is deserving of notice, that in the Parish of Charles the 
mortality in children is relatively greater than in the Parish 
of St. Andrew; and this fact demonstrates the importance <^ 
a chtmge of situation among the remedies to be adopted for 
the diseases of this portion of the community in that part of 
the town. 

XOTB OX TABLB IT. 

The ratioi ginn In TU>lt tU of the onay aro obtained from tUftabler 



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DECLINfi OF MORTAL DISEASES. I&3 

The length of this paper forbidB me to extend my remarks 
on these tables. It is presumed that the aboye comments may 
serve to point out the sort of interesting information to be 
derired from the statistics of mortality, and to suggest 
more copious obsenrations of similar import. 



Plym0«tt, Jjprtf, 1899. 



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ON THB CHARACTERS OF ABBOTIA, A NRW GENUB 
BELONGING TO THE FAMILY HISTERIDJS, WITH DESCRIP- 
Tiom OF TVrO SFSCIBB; BT WILUAH ELFORD LBACH, M. D. 
F. R. 8. «e. HONORARY IdUBMBfiR OF 1SB PLYHOVTH INSTi- 

Tuno^r. 



ABBOTIA. 

Corpus elongatmn, angustum, depressom, thoracis et 
elytronm^ superficies conrexiiisciila. 

Stemnm antice emarginatum. 
Mandibnla se^nales ed«iitul8d 
Palpi maxiUares setacei 
-«*— . Utbialas filifinrmts. 

Body^kmgtiled, siarr<m;» depressed^ with the surfiu^ «f 
thorax and of the dytra, slightly ooBTeau 

Stemtim, anteriorly notched 
Mandibles equal, toothless. 
Maxillary palpi setaeeovs 
Labifd palpt^ItfonD. 



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156 DR- LEACH ON TitE CHARACTERS 

1. AbboHa paykulKana. 

A. Corpore toto glaberrimo atro nitente: elytris externe, 
striis externis perfectis, et duabus interioribus imperfeetis, 
sculptis. Antennis pedibusque piceis; tibiis anticis et mediis 
trispinosis; posticis uni-spinosis. Longitudo 0003 millime- 
tronim* 

Habitat in Greorgia America?. 

Thorax lateraliter tenue, abdomiiie,extremitate posteriore 
fortiter, stemoque lateraliter, tenuiter, pimctatum. 

A. With the whole body very smooth, jet black shining ; 
with the elytra sculptured externally with two perfect, and 
with two imperfect striee; the antennae and the feet pitch 
black; with the interior and middle pair of the tibiee three- 
spined ; the hinder pair one-spined. Length 13^-12 of an inch. 

Inhabits Georgia in America. 

Thorax pnnctulated laterally, slighty; the extremity of 
the abdomen strongly, and the sternum, laterally, slightly. 

2. Abbotia Geargiana. 

A. Corpore glaberrimo, aterrimo, nitente; elytris striis 
tribus externis perfectis; et striis tribus internis imperfectis 
'sculptis; tibiis anticis quatuor, mediis tribus, et posticis uni- 
spinosis. Longitudo 1000 4| millemetrorum. 

Habitat cum preecedente. 

Thorax lateraliter tenuiter abdomine infra et ad apicem 
posticum fortiter^ et stemuih lat^aliter tenuiter impresso 
punctatis. 



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OF THE ABBOTU, A NEW GENUS. 157 

A. With the body very deep jet black, shining; with 
the elytra sculptured ; three external perfect and three inter- 
nal imperfect striee ; the anterior pair of the tibiee with four, 
the niiddle with three, the hinder pair with one spine. Length 
2^-12 of an inch. 

Inhabits the same country with the preceding species. 

Thorax, laterally slightly, the under part of the hinder part 
of the abdomen strongly and the sternum laterally slightly 
sculptured with impressed dots or spots. 

I hare named this genus in honour of Mr. Abbot, a most 
industrious collector of insects, and a very celebrated entomo-' 
logical artist. 

Both these species are in my collection in the British Museum. 



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DESCRIPTION <Mr 80ilB mSW SntDGIBS Ot THB CLASS 
MYRIAPODA; BY WILLIAM BLFORD IJBACH, M. D. F. R. S.fte. 
nmORART MKMIBB OF TOB PLTMOUTfi INSTITUTION. 



JULUB. 

Jubu] Auctetam. 

Corpus elongatum ; segmeDto ultimo abrnptissimo acumi- 
nato. AntennaB sex articulatae capitis pagina superiore inserts; 
articulo primo minimo ; secuudo subcouico elongato; tertio 
paululum breriore, subconico latiore; quarto clayiformi; 
quinto conico; sexto miuutisBimo cylindrico apioe truncato. 
Pedes mediocres. 

Body elongated with the last s^^ment rery abruptly acu- 
minated. 

Antennae six jointed, inserted in the upper marg^of the 
heady with the first joint minute ; the second snbconic elong- 
ated ; the third a very little shorter, subconic, broader; the 
fourth club-shaped; the fifth conic; the sixth very minute, 
cylindric with the apex truncated* 

Feet moderately longer 



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OF THE CLASS MTRUPODA. ]00 

IUOPU& 

Euopus Leach. 

Corpus cylindricum eloDgatuim aeg^ento ultimo int^^ 
fdbtuBO. Antennas septem articulatae ; articulo primo lato; 
secundo, tertio, quarto, et quinto, fere eequalibus gradatim 
clayatis ; sexto dayato, dava coniea, apice tnincaio ; 0q[>ti- 
mo minutiflsimo conico. 

Pedai loDgiauBU. 

Body cylindric elongated, with the last segment entire^ 
obtuse* 

AntennflB seven jointed, with the first joint broad ; the se- 
cond, third, fourth, and fifth, nearly equal, gp^ually clubbed ; 
the sixth clubbed ; the club conic, with its apex truncated ; 
the seTenth very minute conic. . . 

Feet very long. 

MYRIAPODA. 

1. Jubii triSmains. 

J. Corpore hyaline olivaceo, brunneo, pallidissimo ; seg« 
mentis lineolis tenmssimis longitudinalibus ; Dorso, linea 
mediali ferruginea lineaque lateral! punctorum nigrorum 
composita, notato. Capite lineis transversis tribus impressis 
inter oculos medio latiore ; vertice, oris regione, mandibulis, 
palpisque testaceis palUdis. Oculis atris. Longitude 2018 
millemetrorum. 

HMntat sub lapidibusi prope Nice, rarissim9t 

J. with the body hyaline, very pale olive brown, with the 
segments sculptured with very fine longitudinal lines. The 
back laarked with one iwddle femiginous line, and abteral 



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160 ^^- LEACH ON SOME NEW SPECIES 

line, composed of black spots; the head with three impressed 
transverse lines between the eyes, the middle one broadest ; 
the vertex, the region of the mouth, the mandibles and the 
palpi, pale testaceous, the eyes jet black. Length 8-12 of an 
inch. 

Found very rarely under stones, near Nice. 

2. Julus aimatopus. 

J. Corpore ceerulescente-nigro segmentis lineolis impresis, 
longitudinalibussculptis; lateribus linea longitudinali nigro 
punctulata azura, lineisque duabus nigris, segmentis infra 
azuris, antennis, palpis, pedibusque sanguineis pallidissimis, 
tarsis saturatioribus. Longitude 0040 millemetrorum. 

Habitat in Alpibus maritimis sat frequenter sub lapidibus. 

J. With the body blueish black ; the segments sculptured 
with longitudinal impressed lines ; the sides with one longitu- 
dinal azure line spotted with black, and with two other black 
lines; the s^^ents, azure; the antennae, palpi, and feet, very 
pale blood red ; the tarsi deeper colourai. Length 18-12 of 
an inch. 

Found in the Maritime Alps, frequently enough, under 
stones. 

3. Julus modestus. 

J. Corpore hyaline; dorso purpurascente, lineolis longi- 
tudinalibus sculptis, lineis tribus longitudinalibus puinctorum 
atrorum compositis; uno dorsali, aliis lateralibus; lateribus 
gciscis; capite glauco; oculisatris; antennis violascentibus 
grisco annulatis. 

Longitude 0015 millemetrorum. 

Habitat sub lapidibus prope Villa Franca rarissime. 



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\^ 



OF THB CLA88 MYRUPODA. 101 

J. With the body hyaline; Ae back scutptured with rery 
fine loDgitadinal lines; with three longitudinal lines composed 
of black spots, one dorsal, the other lateral ; sides grey ; head 
glaucous; eyes jet black, Lragth 11-12 of an inch. * 

Found rery rarely near Villa Franca. 
4. ^Juhts aummlahu. 

J. Corpore purpurascente, s^^entis postice luteis, lineolis 
longitudinalibus impressis s6ulptis ; oculis atris ; antennis 
nigris; pedibus riolascentibus. 

Longitude 00042 millemetrorum. 

Habitat sub lapidijbus prope Nice vulgatissimus. 

J. With the body purplish, s^^ents behind luteous (clay 
coloured,) sculptured with longitudinal impressed lines; eyes 
jet black ; antennse black ; feet pale violet. Laigth 10-12 of 
an inch. 

Found under stones near Nice^ very common. 

5. Juhm piceiu. 

J. corpore piceo fflaberrimo nitidissimo ; segmentis stridis, 
tenuissimis longitiulinalibus inqiresBis seulptis ; antennis 
piceis ; oculis atris; palpis nigrescentibus 2 pedibus tostaceis, 
unguibiisfiosok, 

13. Segmentis lateraliler maculis ocraceis pallidissimisy 
irr^pilaribus pictis. 

Longitude 0060 millemetrorunh 



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l^ DR. LEACH ON VARIOUS 

Habitat in Alpibus secoDdariis, apud peninsulam St. 
Hospice. 

J, v/Ith the body pitch blacky very smooth and very 
: \.-^ ; s« guieuts sculptured with very fine longitudinal im- 
pitb^^ed lines; the antennee pitch black; eyes jet black; palpi 
blackish ; feet testaceous ; nails fuscous brown. 

Length 22-12 of an inch. 

Found rarely in the secondary Alps, at the peninsula called 
St. Hospice. 

Eucpus Rissanianus. 

E* corpore cameo pallido; seg^entis omnibus oblique 
striolatis (striis postice gradatim increscentibus) postice, intense 
ferrugineis; antennisfuscis; oculis intense ferrugineis: pedibus 
griscofuscescentibus; appendiculismasculinis ferrugineo-atris 
politis glaberrimis nitidissimis. 

Longitudo 0053 millemetrorum. 

Habitat in' Gallia Australia et in Italia, hortis, nemoribus 
et sylvis hand infrequenter. 

E. with the body flesh-coloured; all the segments ob- 
liquely striolated (the striee gradually increasing behind) ; 
behind intensely ferruginous; antennee fuscous ; eyes in- 
tensely ferruginous ; feet grey inclining to fuscous ; the 
masculine appendices ferruginous; jet-black, polished very 
smooth, and very glossy. 

Leng^ 2 inches. 

This interesting species is found not uncommon in gardens, 
grof es, and woods, in the south of France, and in Italy. 



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ZOOLOGICAL OENBRA . 163 

SCX)RPIONIDA, 

Chelifer bicolar. 

C. Thorace dorsoque oliFaceo-brunneis segment is omni- 
bus postice, olivaceo-viridibus pallidis; abdomine pallidiore; 
pectore, mandibulis, manibusque intense ferrugin^is ; pedibus 
posterioribus ferrugineis pallidis. 

Longitudo 0004. 

Habitat locis scopulosis prope Nice, rarius. 

C. with thorax and back olive-brown ; all the segments 
behind, pale olive-green ; abdomen paler ; breast, mandibles, 
and hands intensely ferruginous; hinder feet pale ferruginous. 

Length 2^-12 of an inch. 

Found in rocky places near Nice, very common. 

Scorpio wpestru. 

S. Manubus, mandibulis, thorace, abdomine, caudaque 
olivaceo-brunneis ; pedibus pallidioribus, brachiis antire 
mammillatis ; carpo ad basin interne uni-denticulato ; cauda 
articulo ultimo pallidiore spina apice ferruginea. 

Longitudo 0019 millemetrorum. 

Habitat inter scopulorum fissuras, et sub lapidibus propo 
Nice vulg^tissimus. 

S. with hands, mandibles, thorax, abdomt ' and tail, o*! • 
brown; feet paler; arms anteriorly mammiilated; the wrist 
at its base internally with one very small tooth ; the last joint 
of the tail paler; apex of spine ferruginous. Length 8|-12 
of an inch. 



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1^ DR. LEACH ON VARIOUS 

Foand rery comnum in the fiarares of rocks and und er 
stones near Nice. 

ACTINIADA. 

Oemu m^enomia. 

Corpus cylindricum ad basin abrupte dilatatum. 

Os nnllo modo prominens, 

Tentacnlo in serie triplici disposita, angostia valde elong- 
ata gradatim acuminata apicibus rotundatis obtusiunculis. 

The body cylindric, abruptly dilated at its base. 

The mouth not prominent. 

The tentacules arrai^;ed in a triple series very much elong- 
ated, gradually acuminated, their extremities rounded and 
rather obtuse. 

Anawmia vagans* 

^•corp<Hretoto ettentaculishepaticispallidissimis»hyalinisy 
translucidis; apicibus sttpiuspallidioribus. 

Altitude 13 millemetronun; latitude 11 millemetrorum. 

Habitat in maris Mediterranei littora, ad saxa adhferens, 
at vagans. 

The body and the tentacules rery pale liver-coloured, 
transparent, translucid, with their [extremities generally paler. 

Height 13 millemetres; breadth 11 millemetres. 

Inhabits the rocky shores of the Mediterranean, adh^ing 
to rocks, but very frequently shifting its quarters. 



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ZOOLOGICAL GENERA* 165 

Gemu Seraphua. 

Corpus cylindricamad basiii abrupte dilatatum. 

Qs prominens. 

Tentacula in sarie quadruplici disposita, moderatim elong- 
ata, gradatim acuminata, acuta. 

The body cylindrical, abruptly dilated at its base. 

The mouth prominent. 

The tentacules arranged in a quadruple series, moderately 
elongated, gradually acuminated and acute. 

1. Seraphisa Kneata. 

S. corpore purpureo cameo, lineis longitudinalibusalbidis 
4istantibus, disco et ore cameis lineis divaricantibus eburneis 
oraatis; tentaculis cameis pallidissimis, hyalinis ad bases pur- 
pureis, annulis violascentibus et ebumeis altematibus omatis. 

Altitude 5 centimetrorum ; latitude 18 millemetrorum. 

Habitat in maris Mediterranei littora scopnlosa ad saxa 
adhserens. 

The body purple, inclining to flesh-colour, ornamented 
with longitudinal distant whitish lines; disk and mouth oma^ 
mented with ivory-white lines; tentacules very pale flesh- 
coloured, transparent; their bases purplish, ornamented with 
alternating pafe violet and ivory-white rings. 

Height 5 centimetres ; breadth 18 soillemetres. 

inhabits the rocky shores of the Mediterranean, adhering 
to rocks. 



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166 DR. LEACH ON VARIOUS 

2. Seraphisa modesta. 

S. colore' hepatico pallido, cameo maculato; disco, ore et 
tentaculis hyalino, pellucidis yiolascentibus annulis purpur- 
ascentibus ornatis. 

Magnitudo onmino proecedentis. 

Habitat in maris MediterraneaD littora scopulosa ad saxa 
adhferens. 

Body pale liver-coloured, spotted with flesh-coloar ; disk, 
mouth, and tentacules hyaline, pellucid, pale yiolet-coloured 
ornamented with purplish rings. 

The same magnitude as the preceding. 

Inhabits the rocky shores of the Mediterranean, adhering 
to rocks. 

MOLLUSCS GASTEROPODA. 

1. Succinea elegans. 

S. testa elongata, glabro, nitida succinea, anfractubus 
transversim undulatim striolatis. Animale nigro-grisco com- 
mixto notato ; capite ruguloso flavescente nigro punctulato ; 
pelli pedeque grisco-flavescentibus nigpro punctulatis ; oculis 
atris. 

Habitat in paludibus prope Nice vulgatissima; magnitudo 
onmiuo S. Mulleriana. 

S. with the shell lengthened, smooth glossy amber-coloured, 
with the whirls transversely undulately striolated ; the animal 
marked with gTey mixed with black ; head roughisb, yellowish 
punctulated with black; eyes jet black. 



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ZOOLOGICAL GENERA. 167 

Inhabits marsheB near Nice : is very common, an4 exactly 
the size of S. Mulleriana. 

2. Succmea paiula. 

S. teste yalde elongata ventricosa globanitidasuccinea; 
anfractubus transversim undulatim striolatis; apertura valde 
patula. Animal, dorso, pede, pallio, tentaculisque glaucis 
intensis nigro pnnctnli^^ 

Habitat in paludibus prope Nice rarissima. 

S. with the shell very much elongated, ventricose smooth 
glossy, saffron-coloured ; with the whirls transversely undu- 
lately striolated ; the aperture very open, (patulans ;) animal 
with the back, foot, mantle, and the tentacules deep sea-green 
pimctulated with blackish. 

Very rare in the marshes near Nice.* 

ANNELICIDiE- 

. Sangtiisuga Meridionalis. 

S. corpore atro-purpureo, lineis duabus longitudinalibus 
croceis nigro punctulatis ; notato lateribus olivaceis maculis 
punctisque atris maculatis; abdomine olivaceo. 

Habitat in fluviis meridionalibus lente fluentibus; in fluvio 
Var hand infrequenter capta. 

' Longitudo 1 100 millemetrorum. 

S. with the body jet black purple; marked with two lon- 
gitudinal saffron lines punctulated with black; the sides olive 
green spotted with jet black spots and dots ; abdomen olive. 

* I have leeQ but three liying fpedmens. 



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168 lAL LEACH ON VARIOUS 

Found m those rirers m die soadi of Europe that flow 
slowly; not unfrequently taken in the Var. 

Length 44-12 of an inch. 

ERrudo bicokr. 

H. dorso rindescente, lineis duabns longitudinalibiis cro- 
ceis, notato, abdomine croceo sordido. 

Longitude 0016 millemetrorum. 

Habitat in paludibus et stagnis, prope Nice* 

H. with the back greenish marked with two longitudinal 
saffron lines ; abdomen dirty saffton. 

Found rery commonly in the marshes and pools near Nice. 

SPONGIADiS:. 

Ta$n€iga8traJ^ 

Corpus elongatum, antice, posticeque rotundatum, liberum 
ante aperturam, abrupte acuminatum ciliatum, postice clausum 
rotundatunu V entriculis corporis longitudinis postice augustis ; 
superficies interna cellulisnumerosisovatisexcaTatisscuIpta; 
parietates spongiosee. 

Tamrigoiira Me£ientmea. 
T. corpore g^isco ruguloso, villosulo; ciliis anticis mar- 
garitaceis irridescentibus ; Tillis grisds* Longitude 0040 - 
millemetrorum. 

Habitat mari Mediterranea in Villa Franca sinv^ vulgi^ 



T. with the body grey, roughushy slightly villose ; the 
anterior cilice pearly, and irridescent. 

Found abundantly in the bay of Villa Franca. 

* Tofuloy^ cellttis e( yoot^ venter. 



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ON TWO NBW GENERA OF C»U8TACB0U8 ANIMALS, 
DISCOVERED BY MR. JOHN CRANCH IN THE EXPEDITION 
TO CONGO. 



MALACOSTRACA. 

Odontorynchus.* 

Thorax antice rostratus; rofitrum acuminatum utrinque 
alternatim dentatum. Lamellee caudales mag^e elongatas 
foliaceffi poetice latiores apice rotundate. Pedum par anticum 
mintttuni, bifidum ; secundum longius bifidum; tria postica 
multo largiora, simplicia. Antennse interiores bifidee ; articulo 
secundo multiarticulato ; exteriores acuminate paululum 
longiores multiarticulato. 

Thorax anteriorly rostrated ; rostrum acuminated on each 
side alternately dentated. Caudal lamelle large, slongated, 
foliaceous behind broader, with the extremities rounded. 
Anterior pair of feet minute bifid ; second pair longer bifid ; 
hinder pair much larger simple. 

Interior antennae bifid ; the second joint many jointed. 

* wiovTwdiic dentatu8| et pvyxoQf rostrum. It beloogi to the 
fiunily Sqailladn. 

X 



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170 DR. hEAiia ON TWO NEW GENERA 

Odanioeerus hUescens. 

O. Corpore toto, antennis, pedibus, lameUisque caudali- 
bus luteis. 

Longitudo 0062 mellemetrorum. 

Habitat ad Gruiiie» littonu 

O. With all the body, antennc, feet and caudal laknetttt 
clay-coloured. 

Length 23-12 of an inch. 

Inhabits the shores of Guinea. 

Prionorhynchns.* 

Thorax convexus, elongatus, antice rostratus; rostrum 
utrinque ultra medium serratum ; postice filamento comeo 
acuminato largo instructus. Pedum par anticum tenue bi- 
£dum acuminatum ; paria quatuor, postica equalia unguibus 
trifidis instructa. Lamells caudales lequales ovatae foliacee. 
Oculis magnifi. 

Antennffi interiores bifidee, multi-articulatee acuminata; 
exteriares, longiores acuminats multi-articulatae. 

Thorax convex^ elongated, anteriorly rostrated ; rostrum 
on each side beyond the middle^ serrated ; with a long homy 
acuminated filament behind. First pair of feet acuminated* 
slender and bifid ; the four hinder parts equal with trifid 
nails ; caudal lamellae equals oval, foliaceous; eyes large. 

Interior antennae bifid, many jointed, acuminated ; ex- 
terior antennse ; longer, acuminated, many-jointed. 

* ircf/i-)', FCtra, ef pvyyoc^ rostrum. 



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OP CRU8TACBOU8 ANIBfALS. 171 

Prumorhjfnehus (^ranchiamu. 

P. Tboface, rostroque gilvo aoro yariegatis ; filamento 
corneo sangfuineo ; antennisy pedibus, abdomineque cameis 
pallidis; oculis aureis. 

Longitudo 002] millemetroniiii. 

Habitat in JSfari Allastieo. JLat. 24''. IS'. Long. 19>. 
61; Ift". 

P. WiHi the thorax and beak carnation variegated with 
gold ; the horny filament deep Mood red, the antenn®, feet 
and abdomen, pale red ; eyes golden. 

Length 9|-12 of an mch. 

Found in the Atlantic ocean. Lat. 24^ 13 • Long. 18^. 
M'. IB^. on the surface of Ae sea. 



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ON THREE NEW GENERA OF THE lifALACX>8TRA0BOU8 
CRUSTACEA, BELONGING TO THE FAMILY SQUILLAD^ BT 
WILLUM ELFORD LEACH, M. D. F. R. S. &e. HONORARY 
MEBIBER OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 

Opithioeheinu.* 

Antennse duse elongatse, quatuor-articulatsB ; articulo 
ultimo acuminato multiarticulato tertioy externe filamentis 
duabus aequalibus acmninatis multarticulatis instmcto* 

Pedum paria tria antica simplicia ®qualia ambulatoria, 
par quintum laius compressum, manu uni-dactylo interne 
denticulata, instructum. 

Antennas two, elongated, four-jointed; the last joint acu- 
minated many-jointed ; the third joint externally furnished 
with two equal acuminated many jointed filaments. 

Feet, the three anterior pair simply formed for walking, 
the fifth pair broader compressed, furnished with a mono- 
dactyle hand internally denticulated. 

Opithiocheirus Chryiophthabmu. 

O. Thorace antennis, pedibus et oculorum pedunculo, 
croceo testaceomarmoratis; oculisaureis,pupillonigre6cente; 
abdomine segmentis postice, et manus aspectu intemo, aureis. 

* oTTcdfoci posticos, et \eip^ menui* 



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OF THS MALAC08TRACE0US GRUSTACBA. 178 

Longitudo 0042 millemetronim. ^ 

Habitat in mari Atlantico prope fluvii Congoensis os. 

O. With the thorax, antennas and peduncle of the eyes 
marbled with saffron and testaceous (clay colour;) the eyes 
golden, with a black pupil ; the same s^^ments of the abdomen 
behind, and the internal a^ect of the hand gulden. 

Length 17-12 of an inch. 

Inhabits the Atlantic ocean near the river Congo. 
UnterocheirHB.* 

Antenne quatuor interne bifida; setas acuminatsB multi« 
articulatae ;. extemae longiores acuminatiB multiarticulats. 

Pedum paria quatuor, anteriories asquales, acuminata, 
pedipalporum exteriores (qui etiam sunt acuminati) multo 
longiora, par quintum latius coropressum manu uni-dactylo 
inermi instructum. 

Antennas four, the internal ones bifid ; the sets acumi- 
.nated many-jointed; external ones longer, acuminated, multi« 
articulated. 

Feet; the four anterior pair equal acuminated, much 
longer than the exterior pedipalpi (which are also acuminate) 
the fifth pair broad compressed, furnished with a mono-dactyle 
unarmed simple hand. 

Usterocheinu Macropocailium.f 

U. Thorace, antennis, oculis, pedipalpis, pedibus abdomine- 

* if^fpos poBterior, et yiip^ maniu. 

t fiaxpoc^ longus, ei itoiccXiok, abdomen. 



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174 i>R- L&ACH ON Tman nsw qkmuu 

que teslaceo croceo-testacM sondido i wrkga tk;^ CMSHkruni 
pupillae nigrescentes: abdomine dongato aug^usto ooarctato^ 
gegmeiitis postice, atris. 

Longitudo 0055 mfllemetromm. 

HabiGeit in mari Atlantico ; fuco iiailanti*adbaeir^i8. 

U. With the thorax^ antennae^ eyes, pedipalpi, feet and 
abdomen testaceoiik variagated widi dusky safihm testaeeons, 
jet black ; the pupil of the eyes blackish ; the abdomen elong- 
ated narrow contracted ; the segments behind black. 

Length 2 inches. 

InhabitB the Athnlic, adheraig to faons.HBlaiw. 

2. Usimtooheitm BwmhfpoeaHiom. 

U. Thorace, antennisqne brunneis; pedibus abdomineque 
pallidioribus; abdomine brevissimolatissimo. 

Longitudo 0029 millemetrorum. 

Habitat cum praocedente. 

U. With the thorax and antennsB brown ; the feet and ab- 
domen paler ; the abdomen very short and very broad. 

Length 13-12 of an inch. 

Found with the preceding. 

Antenna quatuor, eloi^;«|89 trifidsy ;BHilti ^acticnlataB ; 
apice exteme ciliat».; fihm^titutt . inferiusy soperiqte jongiore 



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OF THB IfALAOOSTRACEOUS CRUSTACEA. 175 

rnterne cilktumi, exteriores bam filiformi ; lamella ovata 
comprena ciliata, terminati ; filamentula ad basin externe 
instnicta* 

Pedum paria duo antica mono-dactylo anteriore minore 
augustiose : paria tria postica, aequales anguibus arcuatis 
iostrucla. 

AuteiuiiB four elongated, trifid, many^jointedy with the 
apex externally ciliated ; external ones with a filiform base 
terminated with an ovate compressed ciliated lamella, furnished 
at its base externally with a very minute filament, 

Ztq^hanusa Smithiana. 

Z. Thorace antennis, oculorum pedunculo, pedibns abdo- 
mineque hyaline, ocraceo florescentibus. 

Longitude 0064 millemetrorum. 

Habitat in mari Atlantico, fuco natanti adhasrens. 

Z. With the thorax, antennae peduncles of the eyes, feet 
and abdomen and hyaline, ochre yellowish. 

Length 2 inches. 

Inhabito the Atlantic ocean adhering to fucus natans. 



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ON THE GENUS MEOALOPHTHALMUS, A NEW AND VERT 
INTERESTING GENUS, COMPLETELY PROVING THE THEORY 
OF JULES-CSSAR 8AVIGN Y TO BE CORRECT ; BY WILLIAM 
ELFORD liEACH, M. D. F. R. S. &e. HONORARY MEMBER OF 
THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 



MEGALOPHTHALMUS. 

Antennee omnino fere ut in genere Palamonide. 

Oculiy maximi subgloboei ; pupillae reticulata^. 

Pedum, paria prima, secunda, tertia, quarta, quinta et 
sexta, consimilia natatoria; par 'septimum stirpe interne com- 
pressa plus complicata ; pedipalpum fere yerum efibrmans ; 
par nonum stirpe interna compressum pedipalpum verum 
efformat; stirpe externa brevissima apice bifida. 

LamellsB caudales yalda inaequales. 

Antennae resembling in almost all respects the genus 
Palamon. 

Eyes very large; subglobose, the pupils reticulated. 

Feet;'the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth pair 
alike in form and size, and formed for swimming; the seventh 
pair with the internal footstalk compressed, half formed into 



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MEGALOPHTHALMUS. 177 

a pedipalpus; the eighth pair with the external stirps com- 
pressed, more Gomplicated, forming almost a true pedipalpus; 
the external footstalk is very short, with its apex very short 
and bifid. 

Caudal lamellsB very unequal. 

Megalophthalmus Fabricianus. 

ilf. totus hyalinus fulvescens; oculorum pupillis aterrimis; 
abdominis segpmentis supra stellatim sculptis. . 

Longitudo 0015 millemetrorum. . 

Cancer pedatusy OMonitf jPoirtciiy ^oipi. Orten. 248, iVb. 
221. 

Habitat in mari Boreali vulgatissimus. 

ilf. wholly hyaline fulvescent; the pupil of the eyes jet 
black; the abdominal segments sculptured with strlee forming 
a star. 

Length 7-92 of an inch. 

Found abundantly in the nothern seas, especially on the 
coast of Greenland, and in Baffin's bay. 

I will now shew how the genus Megalophthalmus explains 
the theory of Savigny, respecting the varioas functions per- 
formed by the eighteen pair of legs, which he affirms, belong 
to all the genera of the Crustacea Malacostraca Pedophthalmia. 

In the majority of the genera the five anterior pairs of feet 
perform the offices of locomotion, or of prehension ; and the 



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178 DR. LEACH ON THE GENUS. 

four hinder pain, diose of mandacatiou cur of carrying the food 
to the mouth; whioh ia all the genera is funiidied with two 
hard testaceous jaws. 

This is the only genus in whidi the three pairs before the 
fire hinder pairs perform the Amctions of locomotion; the 
change in the three huider ones, from the fire pair of the 
hinder ones is wo gradual, that his theory is in my opmion 
satisfoctorily established; and may in all probability be more 
fidly so, by the diseorery of some genus diat has not yet 
been observed* I again state from my own obserMtion, that I 
iMak his thsory stands on a fiiir base, and wants but little (if 
any thing,) to confirm it; 



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VL 



ANTIQUARIAlf HfYESTIGATIONS IN THE FOREST Of 
DARTMOOR, DEVON; BY SAMUEL ROWE, B. A. MEMBER OF 
THE PLYM0U1« INSTITUTION. 



The extmrnve tract ci hilly country iriiich occnpiei so 
large a portion of the central districts of DeTonshire, has long 
possessed an invidious cdebrity under the name of Dartmoory 
as a reg^ion whose wUdiiess and sterility have grown into ^a 
proverb and a bye-word.'' This circumstance, however sati^ 
&€torily it may account for the slight and g^ieral notices 
which have been usually bestowed upon the Forest of Dart- 
moor by topographers and historians, will by no means justify 
the neglect of the antiquary ; since the very barrenness which 
deters others from any investigation in a region so unpromisiDg, 
often secures the most favourable field for his researches. 

Finding in the mountains and morasses of Dartmoor the 
most authentic vestiges of a period of chronology, of which so 
little that is authentic remains to us, I cannot bring myself to 



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190 RB^« S. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

join in the lamiiitations* oyer the sterility of the distrtctr 
which the mention of its name usually calls forth. Grand as 
they are in themselves, the hills and tors of Dartmoor acquire 
additional interest as the guardians and preservers of relics, 
which in more accessible, and more attractive spots, would 
have shared the fate of too many of their kindred, and dis* 
appeared under the tool of the workman. Such tracts of 
country afford still some shelter from the various modes of 
destruction, arising from multiplied population and increasing- 
conunercial speculations, which have pursued the vestiges of 
past ages from one retreat to another, like the antient Britons 
retiring before successive invaders, until the mountainous 
districts of the western and south-western parts of the king- 
dom afford them the only protection. In these districts, 
therefore, the antiquary naturally looks for the vestiges of 
this people and their times; andasmany of the most interesting 
relics are in hourly danger of spoliation, the notices in the 
following paper have been collected and published, with the 
hope that some may escape impending destruction, and that 
others may be preserved from that oblivion which appears to 

endanger the very memory of their existence* 

< 

Of almost all the relics of Druidical antiquity, the moorland 
districts of Devonshire afford specimens, which, g^enerally 
spiking, have been most imperfectly and unsatisfactorily 
noticed by antiquaries. Cornwall has had more justice in 
the accurate and laborious notices of Borlase, who has care- 
fully enumerated the relics of that county ; — ^but our Risdon, 
in mentioning the curiosities of Dartmoor, records only three 
remarkable things : — viz. the Stannary Parliament seats on 
Crockern Tor, Childe of Plymstock's tomb, and Wistman's 

* On the ieoDlrary the tpostrophe which the bills of D«rtiiioor call forth is 
lliat of WoTdswurth— 

Hall vsaf^es of antient mould, 

And ye that guard them, moontaios old I 



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INVESTIOATIdNS (N DARTMOOR. IRI 

wood. Yet on the moor and within i^ precincts, are to be 
found examples of the sacred circle — ^avenues — the crom- 
lech — ^tbe kistvaen — the rock idol — ^rock-basin— ^-monumental 
pillar — the cairn, or barrow— dwellings and track-ways. 

Of these several relics of the olden time, I proceed to give 
some notices collected from personal observation, made during 
the summers of 1827 and 1828, by the following members of 
the Plymouth Institution: — Mr. Henry Woollcombe, Major 
Hamilton Smith, Mr. John Prideaiix, and myself. The fol- 
lowing paper, containing the results of our united researches 
has been drawn up for publication in the Transactions of the 
society, at the request of my esteemed coadjutors. 

In the classification of Druidical antiquities, precedence 
seems due to the Sacred Circle, both for the importance of its 
object, and from the circumstance that sacred circles in other 
places are usually ranked among the most interesting of such 
relics. The sacred circle was evidently a rude patriarchal 
temple, such as the genius of the people and of their religion 
demanded, and for the construction of which the region sup- 
plied ample and congenial materials. The accidents of nature 
have more to do with the decision of matters of this kind than 
we are usually free to allow. The colos8al architecture of 
Egypt had its birth in the granite quarries of that country — 
the bituminous plains of Babylon suggested the employment 
of brick in the construction of the vast edifices of that gor- 
geous city. The granite tors of Cornwall and Devon in like 
manner, furnished materials for the apparatus of Druidical 
worship, abundant in supply, and suitable in form and quality; 
as to form, sublime from their rudeness and vastness ; and as to 
durability, imperishable as the hill from whence they were 
raised. 

. Although the Druidical doctrines inculcated the opinion 
that the Deity regarded not the worship which was paid to 



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182. REV. S. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

him in temples^ whose canopy was less comprehensiTe and 
sublime than the expanse of heaven ; they held it indispensable, 
that certain spots should be dedicated to his peculiar service : 
and so profound was the respect with which the dogmas of 
this extraordinary priesthood were regarded, that they appear 
to have had nothing more to effect for the preservation of 
their sanctuaries from violation, than to mark their limits by 
some well defined boundary — a boundary which should denote 
the extent of the sacred area without obstructing the view 
of the rites and ceremonies therein performed. This object, 
which the Hellenic nations accomplished by celebrating their 
sacred rites in front of their temples and beneath their porti- 
coes, the Druids attained by means of a circular fence of 
unwrought granite masses, rude from the neighbouring tor. 

Such are the sacred circles found on Dartmoor, in a state as 
might be expected more or less perfect. They are of various 
dimensions, and constructed of moorstone blocks of irregular 
shapes, and by no means uniform in size. Taking a general 
view of monuments of this class in our island, some antiquaries 
have fixed the number of stones as varying from twelve to 
twenty-seven ; and state that they are more frequently found 
of the former number than of any other ; this conjecture, 
however, seems to be much at variance with conclusions 
founded on actual observation. We have found them con- 
sisting often, eleven, twelve, fifteen, twenty-five, and twenty- 
seven stones. The size of the stones varying from eighteen 
inches in height to five feet. The circumference of the circle 
varies from twelve yards to one hundred and twenty, which is 
the size of the Grey Wethers, the largest yet discovered on 
the moor. ^ 

The sacred circle sometimes has a cairn or kistvaen within 
the inclosure-Hsometimes is found in connexion with avenues — 
sometimes in connexion with others — and in one instance it 
contains two concentric circles within its circumference. This 



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INY£STIOATIONS IN DARTMOOR. ]g3 

defleripti<Hi of circle is at once digtinguiahed from the hut 
circle^ or ruined dwelling, by the position of the stonet 
composing it, which are always set up at mtervals of greater 
or less extent; whereas the hut circles have the stones set 
as closely together as the nature of the constructioii would 
permit. 

The most striking of the sacred circles are those near Sitta* 
ford tor in the centre of the moor, and that on Gidleigh 
conmion. The former are known to the moormen by the 
name of the Grey Wethers ;- and are two circles, whose cir- 
cumferences almost touch each other. They were originally 
constructed of twenty«fiye stones each ; nine remain erect in 
one, and seven in the other. These masses have been selected 
with care, being slabs, tolerably level in the upper edge; the 
largest is fallen — ^it is four feet nine inches wide, less than a 
foot thick, and must have stood about five feet high. Diameter 
of both circles, one hundred and twenty feet. 

The Gidleigh circle consisting of stones, which are for the 
most part pointed, presents a very difierent aspect from the 
Grey Wethers. They are thirty-seven in number, ten of 
which are fallen. The highest of those in their original posi« 
tion, is eight feet above the ground ; the medium height of the 
lorg^ number ia about four feet and a half, the smallest stone 
is three feet. Diameter of the circle, ninety feet. 

The avenues* or parallel lines of erect stones appear to have 
excited little attention, yet the peculiarity of their appearance 
connot fail immediately to strike a spectator. They are mnmd^ 
timeA found singly, and sometimes in pairs, but always in 
connexion widi other British relics^ and most oommonly with 
Idle sacred dorcle. 

* The word ovejNM it not tltoftthsr flstigteetory, bnt wo are tl a lo« for 
a aoiodoNripttvo tons. 



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184 REV. S. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

These ancient erections when near idtreams were probably 
intended for the procession of the consecrated boat; in situ- 
ations remote from waters, it is more probable that they were 
constructed for gymnastic performances in connexion with the 
celebration of religious worship. 

The largest and most perfect relic of this class is in the 
ancient British village, near Merivale bridge. Here is a piiir of 
avenues parallel to each other, one hundred and five feet apart, 
rnnningeast and west; the longest one thousand one hundred 
and forty-three feet, the shortest seven hundred and ninety- 
two feet. The btones of which they are formed are scarcely 
two feet above the ground, placed at irregular distances, but 
generally about three feet and a half apart. The shortest 
terminates in a circle, and the longest has a circle at mid-leK^;tb. 
The shortest at its east end, has a stone of larger dimen- 
sions; and in the other avenue opposite to it, is a corresponding 
block, although in this it seems at a distance from the termi- 
nation of its avenue. The western half of this avenue is divided 
at mid-length by a higher stone, and ends with two stones *now 
recumbent. 

A similar pair of avenues, but not so extensive in their phuf, 
is found in connexion with other similar antiquities on the brook 
side, below Black tor. The stones there employed in the 
construction, are two feet and a half high. A stream forms the 
western termination of both of these avenues, the southern is to 
be traced about one hundred and eighty feet, and the northern, 
which is much more perfect and distinct, three hundred. They 
are forty feet apart, aind run parallel to each other, due east 
and west, and each is terminated at the east end, by a circle 
thirty feet in diameter, inclosing a cairn. The stones at the 
head of the avenues as in the former example, being of lai^ger 
dimensions than the others. 

In both these instances the avenues run east and west; but 



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IXVBSTIOATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 185 

others are found in the direction of north and south. A 
single avenue of this kind occurs on Challacombe down, three 
hundred feet in length; — another on Gidieigh common, four 
hundred and two feet in length, and four feet and a half in 
breadth; the latter is formed in connexion with a singular set of 
concentric circles. In this locality is another pair of parallel 
avenues in the same direction, in which many of the stones are 
three feet and a half high, of a triangular shape, the points 
forming a very acute angle. It is probable that a considerable 
portion of the eastern avenue has been destroyed, as only one 
hundred and twenty-three feet of it can be traced, while the 
other can be followed to an extent of four hundred and thirty- 
two feet. 

Of all our Druidical monuments, purely artificial, the 
Cromlech is that which is the most striking in appearance, and 
the most eminently characteristic of the age to which such 
monuments are usually assigned. The finest and perhaps the 
only perfect specimen in Devonshire is at Shilston, in the 
parish of Drewsteignton. The masses whereof it is constructed 
have been selected, as adapted for the purpose in their natural 
state, — ^no tool appears to have been passed upon them, — and 
this absence of artificial preparation, contrasted with the 
indication of great power exerted in the fabric, confers a 
venerable rudeness on this singular and interesting relic. 

The Drewsteignton Cromlech is formed of four stones ; viz. 
three supporters and the quoit or impost. The impost is forty- 
one feet in circumference, and in many parts is from two to 
three feet in thickness. From these dimensions a notion may 
be formed of the mass thus elevated on the supporters, the 
lowest of which stancb five feet three inches above the surface, 
the others being su^ciently high for a man to stand erect 
beneath the massive canopy of the impost. This has an incli- 
nation to the westward, which with a bevil in the same direction 
gives to the surface of the impost a considerable slope.* 

* Cromlechs are of two kinds. I. The Cromlech properly so called, consist- 



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186 RC^- S- ROWE ON ANTIQUARUN 

This is not only the finest and most perfect specimen in 
Devonshire, but it is generally regarded as furnishing the sole 
example of which our county can boast. Could this opinion 
be established it would appear singular, if not anomalous, that 
in a region where the other Druidical relics are so abundant, 
this characteristic monument should so sparingly appear* In 
the adjoining county of Cornwall we know they are numerous; 
and the most cursory observer could not visit a single tor on 
Dartmoor, without perceiving that a want of appropriate and 
ready materials, did not stand in the way of their erection in 
this chosen district. The supposition naturally arising from 
these circumstances has been justified, in more than one 
instance, by the discovery of monuments of this class hitherto 
unnoticed. On Shaugh moor is one, which, if it be that noticed 
by Polwhele, is mentioned by that author only to have its 
claims disallowed ; but for reasons which a view of the crom- 
lech will instantly show to be both inapplicable and groundless. 
The quoit is doubtless supported in an unusual manner, 
resting partly on a natural ledge of rock — but that stone itself 
possesses every characteristic of the cromlech quoit, and 
apparently remains in its original position. At Karn Boscawen 
near Penzance, is a similar monument (figured in Borlase's 
Antiquities,) where the quoit is partially supported by the 
natural rock, as in the present instance. 

In the antient ruined village at Merivale bridge, is a pros- 

ingr of three upright stones and a quoit. II. Arkite cells, consisting of rude 
-walls and single stones, eoTered with one quoit or four large stones. The 
former of these appear to be altars, the latter mysterious cells In which the 
arcana of religiouf worship were practised ; and inhunution was occasionally 
allowed, or at least where human remains have been found. Drewsteignton 
cromlech is of the first Idnd, where the ground beneath the stones could not 
have been opened for burial without endangering tbtwhole structure — Catigem's 
or Kit*8 Coty house, in Rent, is of the second. A third are Arkite temples, 
resembling the second, but larger, and often withsereral chambers; such are 
the Grottes des fen near Tours, and another near Rennes in France. They are 
six feet high in the dear and foil forty feet in length ; and served for the greater 
roysteries.^i^^o(€ 6y Mqjor C. H. SmitM, 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 187 

trate cromlech. The quoit, ten feet six by five feet four inches, 
has fallen from its three suppbrters, and remains in an angle of 
45°. Natural circumstances would not satisfactorily account 
for the present position of the stones ; the ground being nearly 
flat the quoit could not have slipped from a higher spot into its 
present site — nor are there, as on tors, numerous blocks of a 
similar description promiscuously scattered around ; this is suf- 
ficiently distinct in appearance to attract immediate attention. 
In the same village is another conformation of four stones, 
appearing like three supporters and a quoit, less decidedly 
artificial, though bearing great resemblance to a prostrate 
cromlech, wherein the quoit is of much larger dimensions, being 
no less than sixteen feet in length, and nine feet eight inches 
in breadth. 

Below Furtor, near the Tavy head, is another fallen cromlech, 
about a furlong from the eastern bank. Although surrounded 
by scattered masses of granite, its distinction is sufficiently 
marked. The quoit thirteen feet by five, remarkably regular 
in shape, has fsdlen with its longest side to the ground, into 
which it has partly imbedded itself; the base being overgrown 
with luxuriant heather. The supporting slabs are crippled 
under the quoit, and retain it in a position less inclined than 
the former. These slabs are three, and three only — for there 
are no similar masses so near, as to render the monument of a 
doubtful character ; nor are there any appearances which would 
induce the observer to refer it to natural circumstances. Its 
site is one of the most secluded spots on the moor, apart from 
any other relic of Druidical antiquity. 

The Loo AN STONE and Rook iDOL,diough belongmg to the 
class of Druidical antiquities, can boast so little, if any, artifi- 
cial preparation, that in an enumeration of the present kind, they 
will not long detain our attention. The celebrated specimen 
of the first of these monuments, the Drewsteignton logan stone, 
miirbt be rep<^tedly paosed, without exciting more curiosity 



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-«9 



Igg REV. 8. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

or attention, than any other fine granite mass in the bed of a 
river. Advantage was doubtless taken by the Druids, of the 
natural circumstances on which this rock was found, and its 
motion might have been rendered subservient to the purposes 
of superstition. On the application of considerable strength at 
its east end, its motion is just perceptible.* But it is impossi- 
ble to traverse the moor in any direction, without observing 
many a block, which once might have been a logan stone, or 
even now might be easily made to logg ; — so fentastical and 
singular are the positions in which those masses are continually 
found. 

SimUar observations will apply to theRock-idoK "Moulded** 
as they are, as Carrington sings, 

'' Into a thousand shapes 
Of beauty and of grandeur,*' 

few are the tors which would not attract sufficient attention, 
when pointed out to the adoration of an ignorant and supersti- 
tious people. To g^ve any accurate notice of objects of this 
class, would be scarcely less than to enumeratcf the principal 
tors on the moor; or rather, it would be impossible in a classifi- 
cation with which the imagination would have much more to 
do than the judgment. Yet when we gaze upon such a mass 
as Vissen Tor, grand and huge as it rises above the vale of 
the Walkham, — or view such a singular pile as that of 
Bowerman's nose, we can scarcely err in believing, that if the 
Druids had their rock-idols, these must have held an important 
station in their granite mythology. Bowerman's nose consists 
of five layers of granite blocks, some of them severed into two 
masses, others entire : the topmost is a single one. This singular 
pile stands about thirty feet in height, and rising perpendicu- 
larly from the brow of a rocky hill, is a conspicuous object, 
and strongly recalls the rude colossal idols, which were found 
by our navigators when they visited Easter Island. 

^InSeptamber, L88S. 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 189 

But none of these observations, here applied to the Logan 
stone and rock idol, appear to bear upon the rock basin, 
although some authors have attributed them to the formation 
of nature, by the action of water, and from the decomposition 
of some parts of the rock more than others. It seems extraordi- 
nary however, that any one who has examined^ these singular 
relics of antiquity, should advocate an opinion so devoid of the 
confirmation of facts. Were the rock basins natural produc- 
tions, why are they found so uniform in sizef Why are they 
so frequently seen on those parts of granite masses less favour- 
able than other parts to their natural formation f Their 
situation is commonly on the highest spot of the loftiest pile 
of the tor, very oflen near the edge of the block upon which 
they are formed, — ^In many instances with a lip or channel to 
convey the water over the edge of the mass, and generally 
varying in diameter from twelve inches to thirty-six. 

A very fine example, illustrating this general description of 
the Dartmoor rock basins, occurs on the north end of the 
topmost Great Mistor, one of the loftiest hills of the moor. The 
basin is in a most perfect state, in form a circle, three feet in 
diameter and eight inches deep. Its sides are perpendicular, 
its bottom flat ; having a lip cut in the rock in its northern edge. 
It would be most characteristically described as a pan excava- 
ted in granite, and bears such evident marks of artificial 
preparation as could not fail to convince an unprejudiced 
inquirer. 

That this rude and primitive species of basin formed part 
of the apparatus of Druidism, there can little doubt remain ; 
but the specific purpose for which they were constructed has 
excited much inquiry, and no small controversy. The frequent 
occurrenceof rock basins on the surface of logan stones, induced 
Dr. Borlase to suppose that they were employed for the purpose 
of regidating the motion of the logan stone, and of causing it 
^^to move obsequious to the gentlest touch ;'' or ** to stand as 



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190 REV. S. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

fix'd as SnowdoD;'' so that the ordeal might exculpate or con* 
demiiy according to the prirate intentions of the ministermg 
Druid. This object he belieyes might be accomplished by 
causing a certain quantity of water to be poured into, or be 
withdrawn from, the basins, and thus the centre of gravity be 
changed. But all logan stones have not basins; nor are they 
found on logan stones in a majority of instances, being far 
more numerous on other masses. The hypothesis that they are 
formed on the loftiest tors for the purpose of obtaining water 
for lustration, in a state freest from earthly pollution, is far 
more probable, and derives strong confirmation firom the 
situations in which they are so frequently found. 

The Rock pillar, monumental column, maen or m^n, is also 
found on Dartmoor. A striking specimen appears at the ancient 
Merivale village ;* an unwrought granite shafi, of a tapering 
brm, presenting a rude type of the obelisk, twelve feet high, 
md eight feet in girth at the base. On Bair down is another 
>f these primitive obelisks, twelve feet high; its general 
character and dimensions being similar to the former. 

Those who wish to derogate from the antiquity of these 
nonuments, have pronounced them to be mere bound-atones of 
comparatively modern date, to mark the limits of such divisions 
as hundreds, parishes, manors, or commons. A slight inspec* 
tion will, however, satidy an observer that this conclusion is 
ill-founded ; for although some of the maens may have he&k 
thus appropriated, as at Gidleigh, a marked distinction will be 
perceived, when a known modem bound-stone is c<mipared 
with one of those venerable obelisks. 

It will be remarked that the antiquities hitherto mentioned, 
have, more or less, decidedly a sacred or religious destinatiiHi* 

* The maen of Merivale is in connexion with the aTennet, cairn, and 
cromlech, as is evident on referring to the plan. I luppose It to be a gnomoii 
to mark the mid-day moment.-— Note 6y Meyor C. H. Smith* 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 191 

We now proceed to enumerate those which are of a civil or 
military description ; viz. the Barrow or Caim» the Kistvaen, 
the Beacon^ Huts, Pounds or Inclosures, and Trackways* 

The Barrow and Cairn are too well known to require any 
more than a passing notice, as the tombs, or sepulchral monu- 
ments of the antient inhabitants of this island. Like the maen, 
or rock-pillar, they are among the most ready and obvious 
means, at the command of a simple and uncivilized people,* to 
perpetuate the memory of any solemn or remarkable transaction. 
THiere stones are not plentiful, and to be made easily available, 
the barrowy or mound of earth has been resorted to; but those 
on Dartmoor are chiefly cairns in the more limited sense, and 
being very commonly placed on the summits of the highest 
hills, became the chosen site for beacons — ^from which some of 
the loftiest Devonshire mountains have acquired their appella- 
tions, as Pen beacon. West and East beacon, and Cawson beacon. 

Cawson is the highest land in Devonshire, its sununit being 
more than one thousand seven hundred feet above the sea-level. 
On this spot is a cairn ninety-one yards in circuit, which has 
been opened in two places. No point could be chosen for the 
site of a beacon, to alarm a wide extent of country, more 
advantageous than this, which commands the surrounding 
districts, as far as the shores of the English and British Chan- 
nels. The great cairn at Three-barrow tor, which is entirely 
composed of small stones, is one hundred and twenty yards in 
circuit. 

Sometimes the cairn has a kistvaen or small cromlech on 
its summit, like Molfra cromlech, Cornwall. The kistvaen, 

* The cairn or tnmiilas of stones was resorted to, as a perpetual record of 
the treaty of reconcUiation and amity between Jacob and his father-in-law 
Laban, and what is Tery remarkable, this cairn, which was called Mizpeh, the 
heap qfwUnea, was accompanied 6y the monumental pillar ; and to this day, 
calms are' foond wHh a colomnar stone in the centre. 



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192 I^EV. S. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

which may be described as a rudely formed sarcophagus, is 
sometimes also found imbedded in the cairn. An instance of 
this occurs on the top of Cawson ; where the cairn though not 
large, is composed of large stones, and contains a kistvaen of a 
rectangular outline, formed of granite slabs four or fi scinches 
thick. Two comer slabs remain in an erect position, and are 
joined as closely, and with as much precision, as the unwrought 
material would permit; the remainder are more or less fallen, 
and some appear to be wanting. 

Kistvaens are also found in connection with the sacred 
circle, but are more usually observed in a state which may be 
described as simply placed^ i. e. independently of any other 
relic. Examples of both these kinds occur on Archerton hilL 
Sometimes they are found in groups as Golden tor, on the 
brink of Blackabrook, placed around a rock basin. Their 
general dimensions are three feet three inches long, two feet 
wide, and two deep. A flat unwrought stone covers this cell, 
and in the centre is around pit, from which, there is jgood reason 
for supposing, a cinerary urn has been removed. This group 
of tombs forcibly recalls the burial places described by Qssian. 
Here then we have a Druidical cemetery ; and that, probably, 
one where the ashes of the less distinguished dead found a 
repository ; while the warriors and chieftain were honoured by 
the enormous cairn or barrow, and the Druid slept his long 
sleep beneath the massive cromlech, within the sacred circle. 

The HUTS or dwellings of the antient inhabitants are to be 
found in every part of Dartmoor, in a state generally very im* 
perfect ; the foundation stones, and those forming the door jambs, 
being all that remain of these dwellings, with few exceptions. 
The huts are circular on the plan ; but are at once distinguish- 
able from the sacred circle, which has been already described 
as consisting of larger stones, placed with considerable intervals, 
as in these the stones are set on th^r edge, and placed closely 
together, so as to form a secure foundation for the superstruc- 



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I 
INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 193 

tare, whether that they were wattle,* turf, stone, or other 
material. These yestiges strikingly illustrate the descriptions 
which Diodorus Siculos and Strabo give of the habitations 
of the Britons of their times. The former describes them as 
"poor cottages constructed of wood and covered with straw ;" 
the latter as "wooden houses, circular in form, with lofty 
conical roofs.'' 

The foundation slabs above-mentioned, gpenerally stand 
from eighteen to thirty inches above the surface. The door- 
jambs in most cases higher, placed nearly at right angles to 
the outline of the circle ; in a very considerable proportion of 
examples the door faces the south* These hut circles measure 
from. twelve to thirty feet in diameter; the most usual size 
being about twenty-six feet, though some are found much 
largper. The single foundation is most common, but some 
have a double circle. A very perfect specimen of the antient 
dwellings has been observed, and it is believed, for the first 
time noticed as such, by Miss Dixon of Prince-town; a lady 
whose industry and perseverance in investigating the antiquities 
of Dartmoor have been as successful as unusual, and whose 
kindness in pointing out this and other interesting relics merits 
the most public acknowledgment. This venerable dwelling, 
belonging to the most ancient class of domestic buildings in 
the world, is found in the comer of a very remarkable inclosure 
which is divided by irregular lines of upright stones. The 
hut is in a state comparatively perfect, the upper part only 
having fallen in. It appears to have been shaped like a 
bee-hive, the wall being formed of large stones and turf, so 
placed as to, terminate in a point. — ^The circumference is 
twenty yards. 

These huts have their counterparts still extant in the 
diealings of the Orkneys, some of which, composed of stone 
and turf, have the form of ovens or bee-hives; and others with 

,* Jonctie cortice Tirgs. Otid. 

A A 



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194 REV. S. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

• 

a base of stone, consisting of two circles within each other, 
have a superstructure of fir or pine poles converging to a 
point, and covered with branches and heather. Both these 
kinds appear to have existed in Dartmoor. All these huts 
approach, with greater or less accuracy, to the circular fomu 

With very few exceptions, these antient dwellings are found 
in groups, either surrounded by rude inclosures, or unprovided 
with this protection. On the banks of the Walkham, near 
Merivale bridge, is a very extensive village, containing huts 
of various dimensions, built on a hill sloping towards the 
south-west. This village or town» appears to have been of 
considerable importance, as there are found in it, the avenue, 
the cromlech, maen and sacred circle. In this, as in many 
other villages on the moor, regard seems to have been had to 
a supply of water in the immediate vicinity ; and, generally 
speaking, a preference appears to have been g^ven to a south 
or south-western aspect. Near Littleford tor, is a group of 
sixty-seven hut circles, and many more appear to have been 
destroyed. Another village, scarcely less extensive, is near 
Black tor, on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Plym. 

The Cyclopaean inclosures, or Pounds, as they are called by 
the moormen, frequently surround these antient towns. They 
are either low walls of stones piled rudely together in a ridge- 
like form, or belts of larger stones placed erect in the ground. 
Their general form is circular, but some examples are elliptical. 
Remains of habitations are in most cases found in these inclo- 
sures, so that we may justly conclude that they were or^inally 
constructed for purposes of security and defence. 

Grimspound is by far the finest and most extraordinary of 
all the relics of this class. Viewed from Hooknor tor, which 
commands its entire area, it presents to the spectatcnr an object 
of singular curiosity and interest. Its situatimi is on the N« 
W. slope of Hamildown, bordering on the parishes of Manaton, 
and Wid«comb« in the Moor. The wall or mound is formed 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. IS^ 

of mocHrstone blocks, rudely piled together^ but so large as 
not to be easily displaced. The base of this mound extendS' 
in some parts to twenty feet, but the average height of any 
section would not exceed six feet. With the exception of 
openings for ingress and egress, the wall is perfect, inclosing 
an area of about four acres* The vestiges of antient habitations 
within this primitive fence are numerous^ and occupy the 
whole inclosure, leaving only one vacant spot at the upper 
end, which might haye been a place of public resort for the 
inhabitants of the town. A springs rising on the eastern side,, 
supplies the indosure with water, and the whole presents a 
more complete specimen of an antient British settlement,, 
provided with means of protracted defence, than will be found 
in any other part of the kingdom* 

Many similar inclosures on a less extensive scale are found 
in every district of the moor. One^ however, is so essentially 
different in construction from all the others we have noticed^ 
that it merits a particular description in this place, especially 
since it appears that it belongs to the unrecorded and ,unde» 
scribed antiquities of Dartmoor* 

In a small pasture field, about a furlong S. £* of Manaton 
church, a<y oining a parish road, is an inclosure of an elliptical 
form, in an exceedingly perfect condition. The stones of 
which the fence is composed, are from four to six feet high,, 
placed in a double row and set closely together. One stone, 
however, is so large that it fills the whole breadth of the fence^ 
being six feet wide and five feet thick. The diameters of tho 
area are one hundred, and one hundred and thirty-eight feet^ 
and there are no vestiges of any Druidical relic within the^ 
precincts. It will be instantly distinguished from the sacre^ 
circles of Gidleigh and the Grey Wethers, by the position or 
the stones, which are without lateral intervals** 

* 1 coiuecture this indognre to baye named the Tillage of Manaton, or rathef 
Maen-jf^wHy the indotore of ereet 5UmioB^^If<fU dy ii^'er C. H. Smmk. 



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196 REV. S. ROWB ON ANTIQUARIAN 

Trackways, under which designation those roads or cause* 
ways, or perhaps boundary lines, which cross the moor in 
different directions are included, might with more accuracy 
be distinguished into the two classes of trackways and track-* 
lines. Trackways in this more confined isense, would then 
mean those which trayerse the moor to a yery wide extent, 
ascending the hills, penetrating the bogs and swamps, and 
fording the riyers; while tracklmes will describe those which 
connect inclosures or huts, commencing and terminating within 
the bounds of each yillage. 

* The most extensiye trackway which has cmne under our 
notice, is one which is supposed to trayerse the moor in a 
direction E. and W. from Hamildown to Great Mistor. Con- 
siderable portions of the line can be traced in a direction 
corresponding to these two points, but a large extent of it 
rests rather upon the testimony of tradition, than on existing 
remains ; for this is one of the few relics of remote antiquity 
which seems to have excited any attention in the moormen. 
The oral topographers of the district recognise this trackway 
as the equator of the moorland region ; all aboye it being 
considered the north, and all below it as the south country.* 
This circumstance, while it affords good eyidence as to the 
antiquity of this relic, militates, it must be allowed, in some 
degree against the theory which would attribute to it the 
character of a road rather than that of a boundary. 

The trackway may be seen in great perfection descending 
the northern slope of Chittaford down, towards the East Dart. 
It is formed of pebbly stones irregularly placed together, and 
forming a rude causeway, with its crest slightly raised aboye 
the leyel of the country ; its mean breadth being fit>m fiye 
to six feet. On this common, it is visible for a considerable 

• On the authority of the Rev. J. M. Mason, Vicar 6f Widecombe, to whose 
intimate acquaintance with the topography of Dartmoor, and Icindness in afford- 
ing every information ia his power, we are mach indebted. 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 197 

lengthy and can betraced, running due west, through Hollow- 
combe and up the opposite hill to Little White tor. Down the 
common towards the Bart it bends N.E. but takes a southerly 
direction in the level near Post bridge. With some difficulty 
it may be detected passing through the boggy meadows below 
Hartland farm. The peat cutters are said to come upon it 
below the surface; and the general direction is found to be 
E. andW. 

Another portion has been observed passing over Archerton 
hill, and is visible to the extent of a mile. In formation and 
breadth it is precisely similar to the line already described. 
But the finest specimen of trackways as to breadth, is that 
which ascends the hill at Three-barrow tor. It terminates in 
the great cairn on the summit, but commences again on the 
opposite side, and proceeds down the hill in a N. W. direction. 
This trackway is full fifteen feet wide, though much obscured 
by the encroaching vegetation. The stones which have be^i 
recently torn out of the moss, have been piled up in a wall-like 
form; which will readily account for the disfigured character 
of some of the relics* 

The Trackliites are gpreatly similar in construction to the 
trackways, but less extensive. They have been, hitherto, 
invariably observed in connexion with antient dwellings and 
sepulchral remains, and in great probability served for bounds 
or pathways, connecting and inclosing dwellings, while the 
former might haf e been designed in like manner to facilitate 
the intercourse between, villages and towns. 

' Numerous examples of the tracklines occur in various parts 
of the moor. At Torhill, near Rippon tor, they intersect each 
other at right angles in such numbers, that nearly the whole 
of the eastern slope is partitioned into squares, conveying in 
a striking manner the idea of an antient rural settlement. This 



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198 REV. 8. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

notion is strongly supported by the appearance of hat circles, 
which are found in many of these primitive divisions. 

But the tracklines are generally observed, as it might be 
expected, of more irregular forms. On the N. W. side of 
Cawson hill, they are seen in a winding or serpentine form. 
They also occur in irreg^ar forms on the slope of the hill, 
south of Wistman's wood ; and near Littleford tor, two dwell- 
ings^are connected by a line which forms the segment of a 
circle. On the S. side of Hey tor, more in the neighbourhood 
of Torrhill, they are again observed in rectangular outlines^ 

The trackways possess no characteristic which would lead 
us to assign their construction to the Roman period of British 
history ; nor have we historical evidence that any of their 
roads ran through Danmonium in a direction corresponding to 
that of the Dartmoor trackways. Neither are there in them 
any marks of modem construction as fences or boundary lines ) 
the remains of the oldest wall fences on the moor being con* 
structed in a manner so strikingly different, as to be evident 
to any observer of common penetration. Similar remarks will 
apply to the tracklines in a great degree, and as they are 
found so intimately connected with ruined dwellings, and other 
remains of a remote eera, the inference seems just that would 
assign them to the same people and the same period. But as 
this relic of antiquity has hitherto received so little investigation*, 
our opinions on this subject are not advanced without hesita- 
tion, and require further research before they can be considered 
sufficiently established. 

Examples of the existing relies of Dartmoor and its pre- 
cincts have thus been produced. I now proceed to a general 
notice of the principal of those relics, more agreeably to their 
topog^phical situation, commencing with Putor, near Samp* 
ford Spiney church, on the western skirts •f the moon 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. ]99 

Putor is traditionally regarded as a Druidical court of 
judicature, probably from the conformation of the granite 
masses whereof it is composed* These are raised by thejiand 
of nature, so as to form two divisions— -that on the east consists 
of four piles of granite rocks standing at the four cardinal 
points, like rude bastions, connected on the E. and W. by an 
equally rude breastwork or curtain, but open to the N. and S. 
On the N. W. pile is a series of rock basins irregularly disposed 
over the surface of the granite mass. One, on its N. edge is 
complete, and is furnished with a natural lip or spout, calcu- 
lated to pour the water over the edge. This basin conmiunicates 
by a slight channel with a second, much broken, which has a 
like communication with the third, much more oval than the 
former, and placed E. of the second on the verge of the rock. 
Near the W. edge of the same rock, but detached from the 
others, is a fourth basin, slightly oval — depdi eleven inches, 
diameter two feet 

N. E. of Putor, above the Walkham river, stands Vixen or 
Vissen tor, a natural pile, rising abruptly on the N. side from 
the heath, ranking from its size and form among the grandest 
on the moor. It faces exactly S. and is said to have been 
antiently employed for astronomical purposes : whether it were 
ever so used or not, it would at least form a colossal dial to 
determine the mid-day hour. 

N. from Vissen tor, are the Three-staple tors, and Rolls tor-— a 
line drawn from N. to S. would nearly intersect the five. Little 
Staple tor is first arrived at in ascending the hill. On the W. 
edge of the highest and largest mass of this tor, is a basin of 
irregular outline — ^lip nearly S., diameter two feet. On the 
N. W. pile of Great Staple tor, a basin less perfectly hollowed 
than the last— diameter sixteen inches, no lip. 

Merivale bridge, adjoining which is the bound-stone of 
Walkhampton and Whitchurch parishes, is in the valley below. 



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200 ^^^' S* ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

Ascending the hill, by the turnpike road, scarcely half a mile 
from the river Walkham, we enter the antient town or village 
already mentioned. Its site is on the slope of the conunon, 
inclining to the south-west, and the ground over which the 
houses are scattered is of considerable extent, on both sides of 
the road. The principal relics in this village have been 
already noticed under their respective heads; and among 
these, the avenues by their singular appearance will immedi- 
ately strike the observer. Their direction is towards the river; 
they are in immediate connexion with sacred circles, the 
northern terminating in one, and the southern having another 
at mid-length : they are in apparent relative connexion with 
the larger sacred circle and maen on the south. From these 
circumstances the avenues will afford the best central station 
for describing the position of the several relics of this antient 
settlement, as laid down in the accompanying plate. 

About twenty-four yards S. of the S. avenue, is an imperfect 
cairn of small dimensions; one hundred yards S., a circle,-— 
diameter sixty-seven feet, stones ten, height not exceeding 
eighteen inches. S. of the maen is the circle already described, 
and sixty-six feet S. of the avenue, the fallen cromlech before 
mentioned. 
» 

N. £. by N. of the avenues is a Cyclopeean inclosure or 
pound ; differing essentially from Grimspound and others in 
the construction of the fence — this consisting chiefly though 
not entirely, of upright stones, while at Grimspound they are 
rudely piled together. Advantage has been taken of the natu- 
ral position of some huge blocks in forming this singular fence; 
the form approaches, though imperfectly, to a circular figure ; 
mean diameter one hundred and seventy-five feet. At the 
upper or E. end is a vast block — ajair edge forming one wall 
of some interior enclosure, having remains of walls at right 
angles. In front of this, distant thirty feet, is a large quoit-like 
stone, sixteen feet by nine feet eight, which as the impost. 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 201 

with three others, formed die group before alluded to as the 
possible ruins of a second cromlech of very large dimensions. 
There are hut circles or foundations of dwellings within, and 
immediately without, the inclosure, of a large si2e, and of the 
descriptionalready given, as are the other hut circles through- 
out the village, which extends about a mile along the side of 
the hill ; on the highest point of which, Great Mistor (with its 
fine rock basin) overlooks the whole. There are many tumuli 
in the neighbourhood, one of which was opened, but nothing 
was found to repay the seardi. 

Between the village and Great Mistor, is an old stream- 
work, with a primitive bridge or, rather, ford. On the summit 
of Great Mistor is the rock basin already described. 

About S. S. E. of Mistor, above Dartmoor and Prince-town, 
rises Hessary tor. Southward, the land declines towards the 
springs of the Plynu One of the principal brooks is crossed 
by the Plymouth road, where an old stream-work will be 
observed. In the immediate neighbourhood are a number of 
ruined huts, four of twenty-six feet diameter, very near the 
road. There are many others on the slope of the opposite hill, 
eastward; the foundation slabs very perfect, with the door 
jambs standing, frcmting S. North-west of these is a cairn, 
containing an imperfect kistvaen. 

Twelve furlongs S. W. of Hessary, Black Tor rises immedi- 
ately above the before-mentioned brook. On the edg^ of the 
pile on the highest ground, is a basin of an irregular oblong, 
two feet eight by one foot ten, with an open channel to the 
edge. The immense mass on which the basin is formed, rests 
very slightly on the tor, and has much of the logan character. 

Nearly a furlong from this tor, in the glen below, are the 
avenues before mentioned, on the eastern bank of the stream. 
The N« avenue terminates in a circle, consisting of fifteen slab- 

B B 



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J^Lmm^^ 



303 REV. S. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAlf 

like stoneei) the faighest, Cliree feet from the surface ; ten are 
erect, five fallen. Between this avenue and the stream is m 
cairn : there is one also at the extremity of the S« avenue, but 
very imperfect. A stream^work intersects (he avenues diago* 
nally. 

On die slope <^ the adjoining hill, is an inclosure or Pound, 
similartothose already described, of an irrc^^utar form; dkb* 
meter one hundred and twenty paces. It ccmtains nine hut 
circles, whose general size is twenty««ix feet in diameter. 

On the same hill, fronting westerly, nearly opposite Stanlake 
farm, is a second Pound ; its form approaching to a circle, dia* 
meter eighty-six paces. Within and without die fence, are 
numerous hut circles. On the E. runs a brook, which appears to 
have been diverted from an antient channel below the Pound. 

Below Golden tor, near Prince-town, is the group of kistvaens 
before described; and near Two-bridges^ on Bair down, the 
maen or rock-pillar. On the banks of the west Dart, above 
Two-bridges, is the celebrated Wistman's wood, the venera- 
ble relics of one of the most antient forests in the world. 
The wood extends aloi^ the acclivity which rises abruptly 
from the river, nearly half a mile in length, and about a furlong . 
in breath. The trees, which are all oaks, present a scene at 
once curious and interesting, from their stunted growth, and 
gnarled and twisted boujg^hs matted with luxuriant moss, 
whortle, and parasitical pumts. But although the trees do not 
exceed twelve feet in height, some of them are ten feet in 
girth, and the foliage is thick, flourishing, and vigorous. 

Southward, towards Two-brii%es, on the same acclivity, 

are numerous hut circles. Here is also a Pound of an irregular 

' form, less perfect, but of a character sinular to those in oAer 

parts of the moor. A hut circle near its lower wall, has a 

double foundation, different from any before noticed* 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 203 

Crockern tor, celebrated by tradition as the situation of an 
antient stannary court, crowns the southern summit of this 
ridge. The tor can scarcely be said to possess any vestiges of 
such appropriation, although it is belieyed that a granite table 
and benches existed within the memory of persons now alive. 
The natural rock, however, still retains a conformation suffici- 
ently akin to that of a chair, to warrant the supposition that it 
might have been appropriated as the seat of the presiding 
officer. 

On Littleford tor is a rock basin, of an oval form ; its length, 
to the extremity of the lip, thirty inches ; breadth, twelve inches. 

Between Littleford and Longaford tors, is a trackway pro- 
ceeding down the hill towards the West Dart; but being 
much overgrown with heath, its course can be only imperfectly 
traced. On the declivity of the same hill, betwen the tors and 
Wistman's wood, are very numerous remains of trackways or 
lines, hut circles, and inclosures. Two dwellings are connected 
by a trackline ; the others stand singly, and the whole number 
n seven* Many more appear to have been destroyed by the 
building of new^ake walls. 

On Chittaford down, above Post bridge, is the grand central 
trackway, noticed in the general description; and near it, 
above Groggershole head, are detached hut circles, cairns, and 
a kistvaen five feet square. Archerton hill, near Post bridge, 
boasts the singularly perfect hut above-mentioned. Here is 
also a Pound of a remarkable construction, thought by the 
observers to resemble a fortification or camp. The area is 
partitioned by lines of stones, in directions apparently irregu- 
lar; the hut is placed near the rampart, and without it are 
several hut circles. The diameter of the Pound is one hundred 
yards. On the same hill are various relics of trackways, 
inclosures, and hut circles; one of the latter is very complete, 
and is seven yards in diameter. 



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204 RCV. S. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

Immediately opposite, on the north side of the Moreton 
road, is a large inclosure, which, if undisturbed, would have 
approached nearer to that at Grimspound than any yet exam-' 
ined. Diameter three hundred and fifty feet ; mean breadth 
of the rampart sixteen feet. This inclosure contains six hut 
circles; without are three others, and seyeral tracklines. 

On the hill above Stanwig bottom, is a circle of ten upright 
stones surrounding a small kistvaen. Diameter of the circle 
ten feet. 

Hartland tor exhibits another instance of that form of inclo- 
sure which may have assigned the area, between two or more 
piles of rocks, to some specific purpose. The inclosure, as' at' 
Putor, will be best described as a rude breastwork, connecting 
natural bastions* 

Northward, on the hill opposite to Hartland tor, is a dilapi« 
dated Pound, half of the rampart having been destroyed for 
the purpose of building a new-take wall. The rampait is of 
great breadth, much like Grimspound, being in some places 
twenty-five feet wide, and formed of enormous stones. One 
entrance remains nearly S. To the rampart are joined ten hut 
circles, and nine are contained within the area, the diameter'of 
which is one hundred yards. Not far distant, on a hill com- 
manding a brook, which falls uito the East Dart, are twenty- 
five hut circles of various dimensions. 

Northward is Sittaford tor, above Ladle bottom, near which, 
S. £• are the circles of the Grey Wethers. On the side of the 
opposite hill, S. £. are numerous hut circles, connected by 
short tracklines of a serpentine form. 

On Challacombe down, opposite Grimspound, is a line of 

avenues, running N. and S. The N. end is lost in a stream 

» work; the S. is so much overgrown by heath and moss that no 



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INVfiSTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 305 

more than one hundred yards are discoyerable. Almost all 
the neighbouring hills are capped with cairns, and have 
numerous hut circles on their sides, — as Warren tor, Birch 
tor, and others. 

Adjoining the road, about five miles from Moreton, are some 
hut circles in an inclosure, one side of which is straight, the 
other portion forming an irregular curve. A trackway passes 
along the line of the inclosure, towards the valley below ; at 
right angles to this is a second, which is lost in the valley, 
but re-appears on the opposite hilL There is a third, parallel 
to the last — all being connected with the inclosure. 

Grimspound, on the N. W. declivity of Hamildown, has 
been already described. On the summit of Hamildown is a 
barrow ; one of these monuments is also seen on King tor, 
N. E. The portion of trackway on Hamildown is supposed 
to be a continuation of the great trackway. On the N. E. side , 
of Hamildown, a circular inclosure, called Berry pound, wUl 
be scarcely discernible, from the fern and heather by which it 
has been overgrown. 

About three miles N. N. W. from Sittaford tor, is the high 
table land in the centre of the moor, forming an extensive 
morass, frt>m which the principal streams in Devonshire take 
their rise. At Cranmere pool, within its precincts, is the source 
of the East Ockment. This swampy tract divides the water 
courses, — those streams which flow respectively northward, to 
the Bristol, and southward, to the English channel. 

Near one of the springs of the Tavy, between Cranmere 
pool and Furtor, is a single hut of an oval form, thirty feet in 
circumference. Its situation is in one of the most secluded 
parts of the moor, and no antient remains, of any kind, have 
been observed in its vicinity. 



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206 R£!V. s. Rowfi ON antiquarian 

Almost northernlyy above the course of the Taw^ rises Cawson 
or Cosdon hill, the highest in Dartmoor. On the side fronting 
Belstone church is a very perfect trackway, formed in the 
usual manner, with the exception of having a few stones 
placed erect at long intervals. Its direction is from the valley 
and cultivated grounds N. E. by £• four hundied and seventy 
paces. It terminates W. in another of similar character, meet- 
ing it in an acute angle. Near it is a dilapidated cairn. 

On the ridge of the mountain, N. from its highest point, is a 
cairn, inclosed by a fence of slab stones, closely set, leaning 
outwards, apparently, so placed, by design. The highest of 
these inclosing stones is three feet, and the object seems to 
have been, to confine die small stones, of which the cairn is 
composed, widiin their compass. 

S. W. sixty-four paces, a cairn formed of unusually large 
stones, contains a kistvaen, seven feet square,* already d^ 
scribed. W. S. W. seventy paces, is a large circle, constructed 
of closely set slabs, like all die habitation circles on the 
moor, but considerably larger than any hitherto noticed. Its 
diameter is fifty feet, and if the smaller ruins convey a notion 
of the cabins of the people, this from its size bears the appear- 
ance of the mansion of the chief. Yet in the c^tre is a fallen 
kistvaen, eight feet square, within which we thought we could 
discover a rude sarcophagus, the cover of which was not more 
than two feel and a half in breadth. This relic altogether, 
if not unique, is of a very singular character, and very distinct 
in its appearance from all others we have met with. 

S. W. of the last, one hundred and twelve paces, adjoining 
the beacon-cairn on the mountain top, is a low, circular inclo- 

* Thlt U probably * Ca^oo bonte,* of wbicb ibe moormen is tbe neifb- 
boorbood speik. 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOOR. 207 

BVLte^ in formation somewhat similar to the tracklines. The 
stones are thrown promiscuously together, a very few only 
being placed erect in the ground* With the exception of a 
small portion of its circumference, this circle is beautifully 
perfect ; inclosing an area of boggy laud, scarcely lower than 
the highest point of the mountain upon which the beacon is 
placed. 

In the descent of the hill, towards Taw marsh, opposite 
Belstone tor, is a group of hut circles, nine in number, within 
and without a trackline inclosure, three hundred and forty 
paces in circumference. One part of the circumference breaks 
from the circular into a serpentine form, for no apparent 
reas(m. Still nearer to the valley of the Taw, on the side of 
die mountain, two trackways intersect each other, forming 
acute angles at the point of intersection. The trackways can 
be distinctly traced two furlongs from N. E. to S. W. 

Four miles S. E. of Cawson, is Castor rock, which has a 
basin two feet by one foot six. Immediately below Castor, 
on Tincombe* down, are numerous tracklines, re<^ang^ar 
inclosures, and Pounds, with hut circles, similar to those in 
other quarters of the moor. 

Near Castor is Gidleigh common, on the borders of which 
is an upright rock pillar or maen, similar in appearance to 
that at Merivale bridge. The hdght is twelve feet, girth at 
the base eight (eety tapering gradually upwards. It has been 
employed as a boundnstone, and inscribed with the letters 
G and I) — Oididgh and Dagldgh commons. Thirty nsix yards 
fit)m this stone, commences an avenue of upright stones, one 
hundred and thirty-four yards in a direction N. and S. At 
some distance, on another part of the hill, is a second avenue 
running down the hill one hundred and forty yards, in a 

Correctly, Tcigncombe^ witbont doubt. 



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906 RE^- S. EOWB ON ANTIQUARIAN 

direction due N. and S. The breadth is four feet and a half, 
and it terminates in a very curious set of circles of upright 
stonesy placed one within another ; the outermost consisting 
of eleven stones, die second of six, the interior of eight; and 
within this, three stones, irregularly placed. Diameter of the 
whole fifteen feet. At a short distance is a columnar stone, 
having the appearance of an overthrown maen. 

A few paces from these concentric circles commence a pair 
of avenues, leading down the hill, N. towards the Teign. Hie 
eastern of these avenues could be traced only forty-one yards, 
but the stones are peculiar and unusually large, some stand- 
ing three feet six from the surface, and being of a triangular 
shape. The western is visible one hundred and forty-four 
yards ; in a direct lincf from its termination, are two upright 
stones, two feet six high, and t^i feet apart. 

N. of the Teign is the fine Gidleigh circle, before noticed, 
on the declivity of a hill, above the North Teign ; and near a 
path leading from Venwordiy to Oakhampton, N. of Castor 
rock, and E. of Watem tor.* 

On Ruggamede hill, in Venworthy new-take, one mile and 
a half from Gidleigh pillar, is a circle of upright stones, 
twenty-seven in number ; the highest standing three feet and 
a half from the surface. From some wide intervals in the 
circumference, the stones appear to have been removed. 
Diameter sixty-four feet. 

S. of the circle, three hundred and sixty feet, commences 
an avenue, taking a direction N. and S. one hundred and 
twenty-four feet, towards a brook. A large part of this 
avenue seems to have been removed, for the construction of a 
neighbouring wall. 

* Remarkable for Thirlstone rook, conUinbf tn aperture said to be large 
enough to admit a man on horseback. 



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mvBdnoATiONs in dartmoor. 209 

Assacombe hill, overlooking a spring of the South Te^n, 
has various relics, though chiefly in a more dilapidated state 
than usual. The adjacent fences too evidently account for. the 
more than ordmarily ruinous state of die hut cirde^y and qua- 
drangular inclosures on this spot. 

In the neighbourhood of Venworthy, tracklines wiU be 
found, forming irregular figures, (and containing hut circles,) 
€f a similar description to diose on Lakehead hill. 

Bowerman's nose stands on the promontory of a long ridge 
of hills, dividing die vales of Manaton and North Bovey from 
that of Widecombe. Below, is a road to Chagford, from 
vFhich town, in the direction of Holy-street^* a lane leads to the 
celebrated Drewsteignton cromlech, in a field belonging to 
Shilston farm. S. of the cromlech, eighty^seven feet, are the 
remains of what has been r^^arded as a tumulo-caim, with 
an excavation in the centre. 

N. N. W. of Sandypark, a rocky ridge rises from tibe coppice 
and marshy grounds around it; tors appear on the summit, two 
of which have rock basins. The most perfect is very deep, 
and nearly circular, being two feet by one foot eight 

S. E*. in the channel of the Teign, is the logan stone men- 
tioned in the general description; and near Manaton church- 
town the large circle, also before described. 

In the ascent of the hill above Becky fisdl, and opposite 
Lustleigh difis, is a large dilapidated cairn, with a trackway 
descending from it, towards the valley N. E. two hundred 
and thirty-six yards. 

On the eastern pile of Hey tor, is an imperfect basiut two fiset 

f Called by Polwliele, the Via 8a€ra of the Dnddf . 
C o 



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210 RBV. 8. ROWE ON ANTIQUARIAN 

six in dianeter. A trackway, r aiming N. E. ternunates at the 
west pile ; a secondy parallel to the last, ends in a smaller tor, 
W. of the great tor. Another, intersecting the second, has for 
some distance the appearance of an avenue, two hundred and 
thirty-six yards long, but g^raduaUy dwindling into a line; 
haying at its southern end a trackline, at right angles. 

N.W. of Heytor, Holwell tor presents a walk of one hun- 
dred yards, at least from one hundred to oqe hundred and fijfty 
feet wide, between walk of granite, rising to one hundred feet 
in the highest part. Below Kippon tor, die second of the 
Dartmoor hills, a trackway forms an object so conspicuous, as 
to be taken at first for a modem fence. Descending the side 
of Rippon tor, it crosses a road leading from Heytor, and the 
road from Ashburton to Chagford. Many of die stones in diis 
trackway are unusually large and high ; presenting, from this 
circumstance, more of the fence, and less of the causeway 
character, than any before noticed. Near tho trackway are 
two hut circles, the slabs of which are large and closely set; 
the largest, thirty feet diameter ; die other circle eighteen 
feet diameter, having one door-jamb, four feet high; the 
former containing a dilapidated kistvaen. 

Torrhill, W. of the trackway, has its decliyity partitioned 
into rectangular inclosures by tracklines; many of dieise inclo- 
sures contain hut circles. 

A circular inclosure, as large as Orimspound, occupies one 
porti<m of the face of the hill, and contains hut circles. Both 
the hut circles and inclosure are much dilapidated, and one 
fourth of the eastern circumference of the lattef has disappear- ' 
ed. The western side of the hill, looking towards Widecomhe, 
has some circles of erect stimes, closely set, in the act of being 
demolished, for repairing the road ! 

The road to Chagford runs along the high moorlands, above 



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INVESTIGATIONS IN DARTMOiHt. 211 

Widecombe church-towiii a<yoiiuiig whicbi a trackway may be 
traced, pursuing the same direction. 

Yartor, on the opposite side of the dales of Widecombe, 
looks down upon Dartmeet bridge, the pdint Where the 
parishes of Widecombe, Holne, and Lidford meet. This tor 
has two courses of natural roek^ (similar to Putor) on the 
north and south. The w^st side bas a low rude fence, formed 
of g^ranite blocks; and .the eastern has a.sitnilar breastwork, 
though less perfect, and somewhat in advance of the parallel 
courses on the other sides of the tor. The whole conformation 
presents a rude but grand indosuve, conveying the idea of a 
natural temple, admirably adapted to the wild and mystic 
rites of a dark and superstitious Worship. 

From Yartor, N. E. are som^ hut tirdes ; one of which 
contains a kistvaen in ruins, the cover-stdne of which is fire 
feet by three. 

Near the springs of the Erme, and not far from the old road 
called Abbot's way, is Erme Pound, an indosure of similar 
character to the others already described. S. S. E. is Three- 
barrow, tor, so named from the tbree enormous cairns on its 
summit. The cairns are observed to be generally of larger 
dimensions in this quarter than in other parts of the moor, 
and there is scarcely a hill in the neighbourhood, which can- 
not boast of its g^ranite crown. At its western foot is an 
extensive group of hut circles, of large size, and less disturbed 
than in many other places. Many of them have inclosures 
attached, conveying the notion of a yard, or garden plot. One 
is double, the circles touching one another, but there is no 
appearance of an opening or communication between them. 
N. of this spot is a Pound, and another conformation of a similar 
character, not so well defined. 

Southward, about one mile fit>m the Western beacon, in a 



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212 REV. 8. ROWE ON" DARTMOOR, &c. 

fine molmtain basing is a double avenue, so nearly obliterated 
as to require a practised eye to detect it. It terminates in a 
streamy and is unconnected with any other British relics. 

On the hill above Shavercombe head, near the springs of 
the Yealm, are son^ detached hut circles. On Shaugh moor 
are also some circles, about a mile east of the church ; and on 
Sheepstor, which rises grandly above the church-town of that 
name, are hut circles and a rock basin. 

There are detached hiit circles on Cockstor, W. of Staple 
tor; — a straggling vUlage with inclosures, on the Walkham, 
below Mistor, (the largest of which is ninety-three paces in 
diameter, each indosure having a hut circle on the western- 
edge;)— a trackway between Mistor and Rollstor, near an 
antient road to Lidford; tracklines and other remains below 
Lints tor ; — ^but as these have not been so accurately examined 
as the other relics which came under our notice, a particular 
description cannot be given. 

We are not, however, without the hope of pursuing these 
investigations on a future occasion, and of completing an enu- 
meration of British relics in Dartmoor, and its precincts. 



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VII. 



ON PERSIAN POETRY— BT MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD, 
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 



The difficulty of writing on Oriental subjects, particularly 
in this country, arises, in a great degree, from having so little 
access to manuscripts, and from the paucity of publications 
connected with the literature of the East. I feel much diffi- 
dence in entering on this dark and extensive region ; but trust 
from this avowal, great allowances will be made,, especially if 
it be considered, that not more than half a century has elapsed, 
since the strong efforts were made by that accomplished Orien- 
talist Sir William Jones, to excite a popular taste in the Britisb 
nation for the literary productions of Asia; and since his time, 
the mardi of Oriental learning, though n<rt rapid, has been pro- 
gressive. It is true, that a few Europeans have been eminent 
in Arabian learning before this stated period ; but it was 
reserved for the genius of Sir William Jones, to shed a more 
general lustre on the languages of Asia.** 

* Mock TBlnable infonnation may now be ezpeeted fitnn theTranaaettoDS of 
the Royal Asiakio Sodefcy of Great Britain and Ireland, In oonjonetion with the 
Branch Societies in India ; also from the Oriental Society of Translation, which 
has recently been established in London. 



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214 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

Before we can speak satisfactorily of the poetry of Iran or 
Persia^ it is necessary to take a rapid view of the state of 
Arabian poetry before, and about the time of, the Mohammedan 
Conquest. 

The compositions of the old Arabian poets, preserved in a 
written form, are more or less descriptive of their primitive 
manners, of their tents and camels, of their deserts and pastures. 
Love and Pity, the two keys of the human heart in the poetry 
of all nations, impart an irresistible charm to the shorter pieces 
of the Orientals. Their gazeb^ generally expressive of gay 
and lively images, and their ccwufaA^, appropriated to serious 
and grave subjects, are without number: many of their pro- 
ductions breathe a fine spirit of independence ; inculcate a 
noble contempt of riches; and are profuse in praise of liberality, 
a virtue for which the Eastern nations are pre-eminently dis- 
tinguished. 

Some authors imagine that the art of writing was not much 
in practice among the Arabians before the time of Mohammed, 
who on account of his ignorance of the written character, was 
styled by his enemies ^ The Illiterate.^^* This ignorance per- 
haps extended only to the kind of writing introduced just 

* It has been suspected that the term **iZ{iforate" was purposely assumed by 
Mohammed, or given to him by hSi friends as a pretended proof of the Koran 
bdng of ditlne origin. M; Renaud In his " Ik$eriptUm det Manntmew JAmiiI- 
fNOfw,'* obserres that Mohammed was (bnd of retirement, and that every year, 
during the month of the Ramadan, he withdrew to a cave en MouAt Hira near 
Meeeay and declared, that in his meditation on divine sulijects, he was visited by 
the angel Gabriel, who saluted him with the title of "Apostle of God,'* and, "as 
he knew uot how to read, at least at first, the angel brought his instructions in 
writing, and read them to him. Mohammed repeated them, and ^afterwards 
revealed what he had learned to Us disciples. Hence is the origin of the term 
coraii, which in Arabic means reading^ and is pronounced with the article, 
al-coran^ which implies, emphatically, **tk€ reading** ibiatic Journal for Jan. 
1829. 



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ON PERSIAN POETRY. 215 

before Islam^ by Merger Ibn Morrah, a natiVe of Babylonian 
Ir&k, which was named Ambaryj and superseded Ae Almos^ 
nadjf a character in use before the establishment of Moham- 
medanism amongst the Hamyarites, or the people of Yemen, 
governed by princes of Hamyar, and professors of Sabeism. 
This character was most probably the rude CfuficX The 
learned Silvestre de Sacy thinks it impossible to imagine that 

* lilam or Iitontifm, *' firom the worcl HUama, -which io the fourth oonju^a* 
tiim is Ulama, to enter into the state of salyation ; hence §tlam (or Ulam) the 
sayiag religion ; and mMtlima% or as we call it, mituUman^ he that beUeveth 
therein.*' Prideanx's Life of Mohammed, page 15. ikfutii/ffiait, according to 
M. Reinaud, signifies ** to pat oneself into the hands of Ood.** 

t Almoinad or Mu9nad. Nonsn*aYons, svr les caracteres mosnades que 

des notions Taguesetincertaines Je crois anssl que les caracteres 

musoades etoient les memes qne ceox qae nous Toyons sor certaines bandelettes 
de momies. Les auteurs arabes qui parlent des antiquites de I'Eg ypte, rafflrment 
memo tres-positlyement ; lis nous appreaoent en meme temps que ce caractere 
etoit nsite anciennement chez les Hhemyarytes. L*ecriture rousnade, dit al- 
Masoudy (Mourawfje al dgekeb) est la premiere ecrlture des Hhemyarytes et 
des rois de A*ad. Al Miqryzy (Deser. de TEgypte, article des Pyramides) 
igoute qoe les lettres en sont Isolees. Hha^jy Khalfah (Bibl. Orient. artSde 
rim el-KkathJ et Pocock, nous representent, au contrafre, ces caracteres comme 
groupes. Ces denx opinions neparoissent pas eontradictoires, qnandon examine 
les bandelettes dont nous Tenons de parler.*' Recherches Asiatiques Tom. Sec 
p. 14. 

t Bo called from Ch^a or Canfa where it was first used. The character 
termed Cn/ic was introduced by Moramer. Ibn Khalcan, an Arabian writer, 
thus obserTes >— " With respect to the practice of the art of penmanship, the 
first who ever wrote in an Arabic character was Ismael, on whom be peace* 
The true opinion, howoYer, according to men of learning is, that the first writer 
in an Arabic character was Moramer Ibn Morrah of the people of Ambar. 
And it is said, that from the sons of Morrah and from Ambar writing was spread 
among our countrymen." See also on this subject Professor Stewart's ^ Original 
Perrian Letters,** page ii. a work of gpreat importance to writers and other 
students going to India. His version of the seventh chapter of Anrari Soohyly, 
and his other publloations have considerably enlarged our knowledge of Persiaa 
literature. 



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216 MR. NATHANOEL HOWARD 

all the tribes of Arabia continued without the knowledge of 
writing until the sixth century of the Christian era, and also 
remarks, that as the old Cvfic character bears so great a re- 
semblance to the anciait alphabet of the Syrians named 
JEitranghehf there seems to be no doubt that the Arabians 
borrowed it from the people of Syria; and this opinion is 
further confirmed by historical traditions: and as the Korin 
was originally written in the rude Cmficj or rather in the 
anterior character borrowed from the Syrians of Mesopotamia 
a little before the time of Mohammed, he yery justly conceiyes 
that the character, then introduced, spreading through every 
part of Arabia with the doctrine of the Prophet, caused all 
other kinds of more ancient writing to fall into disuse.* It 
may also be here observed, that Arabic may easily be written 
with Hebrew characters^t 

The Cujic laid the foundation for the NUki^ a beautiful 
character in use about three hundred years after Mohammed, 
ascribed to Abu Ali Ibn Moklah, but it was considerably 
improved and perfected about the year of the Hijra 433 X by 
Ibn Bowab. This character was afterwards embellished by 

* See M. de Sacy*s admirable Grammalre Arabe. Premiere Paitie. p. 5. 
See also Note to MilU*s Mobammedaniim, page 881, where refereneea are 
made to Pocock. Specimen p. 158, Niebohr torn. l.p. 88. 

t See Memoir of the Rev. Joseph Wolf, p. Sll, M. Langles speaking of 
Uie learned Pooock, thus obsertes: En 1655, 11 pnbUa le Porta Moiit^ omrrage 
compose en arabe et ecrit aree det earacUre$ kebreamx^ par le sayant Jdf Molse 
Maimonides, snr i'histoire et la natnre da TVdmud. C'est le premier litre 
imprime a Oxford avec des caracteres hebreaox. Recherches Aslatiqnes. 

X An. Dom. 1080. ibn Khalean; bat according to Abnlfaraji 418, or An. 
Don. 1092. tftfra or H(9<ra signifies JUS^A^ allading to the Jl^&< of Moham- 
med to Yairebn and this drcomstance aocording to Bf. Reinaad, produced a 
change of iu name to Midimtta^Nabij **the dty of the piophet,** or simply 
IMinH or Mediwdu It OQOoned in the year 699 of onr era, and has since been 
employed u an epoch by all Muiialnian nations. 



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ON FER6UN POETRY. 2I7 

Nezam, Togndj^ Yakit, and other eminent penmen. The 
Persians are fond of the fine TaHk hand, particnlarly in 
Poetry ; but the Sheke$teh is an inel^ant and careless kind 
of writing without r^fularity, and often without diacritical 
points. 

A very undent cimeifarm diaracter has recently been dis- 
covered by M. Schuli;, inscribed on the monuments in the city 
of Van in Turkish Armenia, which the natives call Shamiram 
makertf or the city of Semhramis. This citndfarm charact^ 
the learned M. St. Martin considers as belonging to a very 
remote antiquity, and identically the same as that found in the 
Inscriptionson the walls of Persepolis; some of which he so 
ably interpreted. He is of opinion that this system of writing 
expressed the sounds of a dialect closely connected with the 
Zeitdy and which dialect was the ordinary language of the 
Persians at the time of the elder Cyrus. Other inscriptions 
have also been discovered by M. Schulz in the city of Van^ 
which are different to the character which M. St. Martin 
denominates Median and Assyrian, but possessing a strong 
affinity with it, and referable perhaps to a higher period of 
antiquity.t 

The copiousness and extent of the Arabic language is a 
subject of astonishment to those, who have not duly considered 
the rapid production of words from roots generally triliteral, 
(though quadriliterak in Arabic are also numerous,) and in a 
language which abhors compounds. Sir William Jones has 
calculs^ that twenty-eight Arabic letters will give nearly 
twenty-two thousand elements of the language; he also informs 

* Toffrai is the author of a fiYorite monody of fifty-nine couplets, well 
known to Arabic scholars. 

t See more on this subject in the Asiatic Journal for Dec. 1888. 

Dd 



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218 Ml» NATHANIEL HOWARD 

}fs that the Arabians have a saying '> that no man uninspired 
was ever a c(»nplete master of Arabic/'* 

The difficulty of attaining an extensive knowledge of the 
language, and writing it accurately, are discouraging obstacles 
even to a native ; for the incredible fund of words^f from 
whidi a judicious and practicable selection can be made, is at 
once an overpowering cause of perplexity : besides which, 
the critical propriety in the arrai^mentof sentaices, the nice 
felicity of idiom, and the easy elegance which a skilful and 
experienced hand alone can throw into a written oompoention, 
are within the reach of few. 

Specimens of poetical, or of any other literature of Arabic 
origin, existing at the important era of /i&im, are mostly in 
manuscript, and only to be found in the libraries of Univer* 
sities, or in private Collections, if we except the publication of 
the JHoallakait or the seven celebrated poems, of which Sir 
William Jones produced so excellent a version in our own 
language; the extractsby Schultens from the Hamfaa, which is a 
valuable collection of ancient po^ns compiled by Abu Timmam, 
and of which a complete edition with a Latin version and 
commentary is now in progress, undertaken by Profeeaor 
Freytag; the MonumentaVetustiora of Schultens; the Casidah 
of Caab Ibn Zoheir ; some pieces scattered in the works of die 

* Sir William Jones's Discourse on the Arabs. 

t Pooock, in his preface to the Otrwtem Tagraij mentions a dremnstanoe, 
i¥hich, (if trae,) may glre some idea of the pains which the Arabians have talieo 
with their language. *' A king haying sent to a grammarian for the books in 
his possesion relative to tliat tongne, he desired the messenger to inform the 
monarch, that if lie wished to tiaye them, he most send sixty camels to carry the 
dictionaries alone.'* This sounds like an Arabian Tale^ but see Richardson's 
Dissertation on the literature Ac. of the Eastern Nations. Proqft and Ul. p* 74. 

t Sutpended. 



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ON PBRSIAN VCWTKY, 21S^ 

learned Baron de Sacy and BeidLe; and others to be found at 
the end of Carlyle's el^wt trandations. But a happier era 
seems to be dawning* on the literature of Arabia, and accurate 
editims (^some of the best works of that country may reason-* 
ably be expected. 

The specimens of the seven poets,* usually styled the 
** Arabim Pkiadei,^^ are masterjueces of Arabic poetry, and 
are said to have been suspended in the portal of the Kaaba^ 
or Square Temple of .Ifecca^ as modds of beauty and ele«w 
ganoe^t 

The Arabians appear early to have been enthusiastic lovers 
of po^ry. It was really with them the natural expression of 
passion. It was the solace, the gratification, or as the Asiatics 
term it, the loHjful magie of their uncultured minds. Their 

* The lereD poets ire AmralkeU, Tarafa, Zohelr, Lebid, Antara, Amru^ 
and Harethy who floarbhed in the seventh century of the Chrbtiaa era. Some 
Talnable editions have appeared of neariy all the Moallaka, accompanied with 
the commentary of Zozeni, which Is thought preferable to the scholia of Ibn 
Nahas. 

t The practice of mupending poems li Uie gate of the Kaaba seems to be 
fbr the purpose of obtaining pMieUjfj as Mecca was the resort of pilgrims and 
the chief place of trading with caravans ; if they were suspended wUkiu the 
tenqple, It was done with a view to the pre$ervaUoii of the manuscripts. The 
poems, honoured by the prise obtained in the poetical contests at Oeadt^ were 
usually written on Egyptian silk, in letters of gold, and in due form hung on the 
gate of the JCoote, atemple so andentt thai Its age is lost hi a cloud of idle 
traditions. The learned M. Langles say»;— liong temps avant Mohhammed, 
les Arabes avoient chaque aanee, dans la )daine de 0*kadt, pros de la Mekke, 
des assemUees assez semblables aux jeux olympiques des Grecs : on y disputolt 
devant une multitude inwitnse, non seulement le prix dela force, du courage, de 
Tadresse, mais encore la palme de la poesle et de Teloquence.*' &c. Recberches 
Asiatiquei, Tom. ii. p. 18. Sir William Jones informa us, that in Pocock's 
collection of manuscripts at Oxford, No* 174, there is a MS., containing above 
forty other poems, which had the honour of being tuspeiukd at the gste of th^ 
temple. 



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200 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

pastoral occupation, their famili^ view of natural objected 
their de9ert solitudes, their regions of burning sand, their 
rugged hills and beautiful ralleys — all contributed to touck 
the chords of nature within them, and the expression was a 
spontaneous flow of poetry and musical cadence. 

The Arabians have excdled in almost every species of 
poetical coo^iosition ; but their genius mostly del%hted in 
the lyric and elegiac. They have also successfolly exercised 
their talents in satirical, didactic, and narrative poetry ••— 
Among their most valuable productions which have escaped 
the havoc of time and proscription^ we may mention the Agh* 
any,* a complete collection of anci^it Arabian poems, the 
diwan of Hudhail, the two Hamisas, one by Abu Timmam 
already mentioned, the other by Albakhteri, the diwan of 
Dhu'lremmah, the poems of Amrulkais, Mutalammis, Jarir,. 
Ferezdak, and others. The volumes of the more modern 
Arabian poets, still in manuscript, are exceedingly numerous; 
but till the best of these works have seen the light, no fair 
estimate cau be formed^ nor any clear view given of the poetry 
of Arabia.t 

* '* M. Jones oablle de eiter la oolleetion la plus complete d'aneiennet 
chansons arabes, intitolee Aghanyg laBibliotheqne nationale en adernlerement 
acquis on bel ezemplaire en quatre gros Tolames in-Jblio.** ■ Becberches Asla- 
Hqaes. Tom. ii. p. 99. 

t Best of the more modem Arabio Poets still in BIS. 
AbaNawasAlHassBnIbnHatl,bornA.H. 145,dledA.H. 105. MS. BodL 

170. pp. folio. 
Aba Timmam Habib Ibn Awas Al Tai, born A. H. 190, died A. H. S81. 
AbuIbadahAlwalidlbnObadAlbohtari, born about A.H. 900, died about 

A.H.960. 
Abu Ibnul Abas, sumamed IbnulrumI, died A. H. 988. MS. BodL 800. pp. ito. 
Abu Tayed Ahmed Ibn ul Hussain Almutannabi, bom A. H. 808, died A. H« 

854. MS.8Y0.8ll.pp. 
Abul Oia Ahmed Ibn Abdallah Altanukbi Almaar^ bora A.H.fe8t died A.A 

449. M8.800.pp. 8fo. 



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ON PERSIAN POETRY. 221 

As a speeimen of an ancient Arabian poem, I present a 
manuscript version which Sir William Jones wrote in his finer 
copy of the Ham^tsa, now in the library of the Royal Society* 
**ln the night-watch, past the nudnight hoar, a turtle-dove 
mourned on the branch : and I w€U sleeping ! I spoke falsely 
by the mansion of Allah : had I been really a Lover, the 
turtles would not have preceded me in amorous mourning/'* 

Sir William Jones has also left the following prose version 
of another short po«n in the Hamdsa by Ab6 Atai'ssindi, sur-> 
named Marzuk, a Moslem. ^ I r^onembered thee, my fair 
one, while the Indian javelins were vibrating among us, and 
the straight brown lances were drinking blood from us. Now 
by Heaven! I know not— ^md I am a speaker of truth, whether 
a disorder has affected me through, thy removal,, or whether 
it be enchantment* If it be enchantment, excuse me in the 
name of Love : and if it be a disorder of a different sort, with 
thee must be the excuse." f 

Amidst all the contests for litarury excellence, the spirit 
of religious animosity was secretly working its progress to the 

* These lines may be thos rendered Into verse, but it is impossible to reach 
the beauty of the original. 

In the still night-watch, where I lay, 

A Dove sat mourning on a bough. 
And I wa$ $Ueptng /— Can I say 

I lov*d that Fair One, yet oonld proTe 
80 Iklse, O Allah ! to my TOW t 

Alas ! I am no Lot ct - el se that Dove 

Had ne'er preceded me in notes of LoTe» 

See Appendix to Original P tosagofl - ■ No, 1. 

'^ See Appendix No. S. 



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tsp^ 



222 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

very centre of Arabian idolatry ! * Continued fendft among 
the different clans had long agitated that divided country, and 
led the way to a revolution in the national worship. Arabia 
had early afforded an asylum to unprotected Jews and perse- 
cuted Christians, who were allowed to exercise the rites of 
their respective religions unmolested. Mohammed, taking 
advantoge of opposing factions and the general disorder, and 
being gifted with all the arts of insinuation, — an eloquent 
tongue— -a graceful figure— an enthusiasm of manner— an 
unsl)rinking perseverance through difficulties, after years of 
protracted opposition to his new faith, at length pushed oil 
his conquests, first by persuasion, and during the last ten years 
of his life by the power of the sword, and lived to see his 
doctrines strike root in every part of Arabia. This religion 
aflier his death, sent forth branches which extended, by the 
means of political influence, over Syria, Persia, Egypt, Turkey, 
Morocco, and many other nations of Africa^ The Kaaba "wbb 
again revered as the ancient seat of sanctity. No more were 
rival poems of acknowledged excellence allowed to decorate 
the portal of the temple. Nothing was permitted to meet the 
public eye, which might impugn the new faith, or obscure the 
splendour of the Koran, which, as the Prophet and his succes- 
sors pretended, was of divine origin. 

The fervour of conquest, and the fanaticism of zeal to 
disseminate in neighbouring countries the Moslem faith, pro- 
duced to the Arabians a series of brilliant victories. 

* ** Mecca, in pfirticnlar, and most of the tribes, liaYing deserted the fidth of 
At)raham and of Ishmael, had plunged into aU the errors of paganism. In the 
interior of the Caaba were statoee of Abraham and Ishmael holding seyen arrows, 
with which the idolaters pretended to teU future events. On the outside were 
ranged 860 statues, each presiding over one day in the year ; some represented 
angels, others planets and stars. Every one had its peculiar form of worship, 
its votaries, and sacrifices.** See Abridgement of M« Reinaud's Masnlman 
Momiments in Asiatic Jov. Jan. 1889. 



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ON PERSIAN POETRY. 223 

The battle of Cadessia, in the year 686 of the Christian era, 
decided the fete of the Persian monarchy. It gave the death- 
blow to their expiring greatness. The elegant and polite 
Persians were compelled to submit to the yoke of Mohammed- 
anism. By this disastrous oYerthrow their literature sunk, and 
their oiril polity was levelled to the ground. In the confusion, 
fanaticism, and devastation which followed the introduction 
of Islam into the classic land of the Persians, not only were 
their early annak lost, but even their soft and beautiful lan- 
guage was corrupted by an influx of discordant Arabic words, 
to which their ears were unaccustomed, and which their organs 
of speech were incapable of uttering.* Almost every vestige 
of literary composition which preceded this extraordinary 
revolution was swallowed up in the vortex of those tumultuary 
times: and here, we must not omit menticming the destruction 
of the Alexandrine Library, by order of the Calif Omar, when 
Amrou subdued Egypt, (seven centuries after the destruction 
of the celebrated Library of the Ptolemies, which occurred in 
Ccesar's time.) This Library consisted of an immense number 
of volumes, sacrificed to the infatuated zeal for the exclusive 
promulgation of the Koran. The fact rests on the authorities 
of Abul-£suraji, Macrisi, and also of AbdoUatif, a writer of a 
work expressly on Egyptian antiquities.t 

In contemplating the fate of the extensive, and once mighty 
empire of Iran or Persia, the mind is awed and overpowered 
by a variety of emotions; and if we can but divest ourselves 
of the partiality, which with our earliest dawn of reason, we 
have imbibed for the greatness, valour, and literature of the 
Greeks and Romans, we shall be better able to appreciate the 

* The Arabic letters are difficult of pronunciation to the Persians, particu- 
larly (tha) tk which they pronounce as «, and (dhal) dh they sound as z. 

+ See note to Mills* Mohammedanism, page 88 1 . See also Gibbon *8 Account 
of the Fate of the Alexandrine Library. History olihe Decline and Fall of 
the Roman Empire, vol. 9. ' 



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224 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

genius, glory, and literary distinction, whidi diaracterised the 
Persians from the remotest periods of antiquity, and whic^ 
diffused an enlightened and beneficial influence oyer the whole 
continent of Asia. When we surrey this celebrated empire, 
whose monarchs ^reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, 
over a hundred and seventy and twenty provinces;'^ when we 
reflect upon its ancient g^randeur, its princely dependencies, 
laws, manners, literature ; at one time a stately and command- 
ing people steadily promoting their own power and prosperity, 
at another time torn and convulsed with a series of civil dis- 
sensions, we shall be presented, as in a mirror, with the uncer- 
tainty of national greatness, and the violent catastrophes, which 
usually follow the desolatmg career of revolutionary govem- 
ments« 

The promulgation of the doctrines of the new faith, the 
proscription of all efforts of the imagination, which were not 
in unison with the tenets of Islam, and the opinion that all 
knowledge was contained in the Koran, interrupted for some 
time among the Arabians, the progress of Poetry, f until 
the accession of the Abassids, who warmly encouraged the 
revival of art and letters; among these, the celebrated Ha- 
roun Alrashid, the fifth of the Abassid Khalifs, in the 170th 

* Esther, chap. 1. Tar. 1. Chardin ioforms nt that **Penia is the greatest 
empire of the world, if we consider it acoordiiig to the geographical description 
of the Persians.*' **As to the ancient empire of the Persians, it reached from 
the Hellespont to the month of the rirer Indue about two thousand eight hundred 
English miles; In breadth from Poafiif to the mouth of the Arabian gulph about 
two thousand miles.'* Uidyersal History, yoI. 5, p. b9. 

Modem Persia is oomparatiTely In a very degraded state. Bee Fka8er*s Kho« 
rasan, Morier, and other recent trayeilers. 

t The following protest in the Koran against poets is curious : Shall I declare 
unto you upon whom the demons descend? They descend upon every lying 
person ; they learn what is heard ; but the greater part of them are liars. And 
those who err, follow the steps of the poeCt." Sale's Alcoran^ chap. 97. 



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' on PERSIAN POBTRY. 225 

y«ur of the Hijra, (A. D* 786) beeaoie illustrious for his pa- 
tronage of lettere, and bad tbe happiness to see his Court at 
Bagdad orowded with men of genius and science, who were 
invited from all parts of the world to share his munificence. 

During his qplendid reign, the Khalifitt rose to its highest 
pitch of greatness; for its power <' extended in Asia from thcf 
gulph of Persia and tbe confines of Tatary* to tbe Mediter- 
ranean and Indian Seas, and comprehended all the habitable 
part of Africa, fit>m die isthmus of Suez to the Atlantic 
oeeaiu^'t Haroun haring enjoyed a reign of twenty-three yearn 
of unintenrupted glory, died, and 1^ tbe throne to bis eldest 
SOD, Amin, who, Ibeing a weak and unamiable prince, was put 
to death by the army ; and Al*Mamun, bis younger brother, 
waa declared Kbalif, amidst the unanimous acclamation of tbe 
people* He was the seventh monarch of the Abassids ; and, 
in hb time^ poetry and tbe sciences attained their zenith of 
excellence. Though his poww was less formidable than his 
lather's, and tbe splendour of his court, perhaps, inferior, yet 
lie was more passionately devoted to literature, expended 
larger rams in tbe acquisition of valuable nmnuscripts, and; 
was more zealous tor tbe difiusion of general knowledge. 
Poetry^ Astronomy, Mathematics, Natural History, Ifedicine, 
and other species of learning, mostly derived from Greek 
antbonf,^ aptead over every country, where the power of the 
Kbalif was lelt and acknowledged. 

* The Chiiiete, havljig no r in their alphabet, pronounce Tata. It does not 
appear that this term was known in Europe before the twelfth century.— ->M. 
Langles. 

f <Mfls*t«pMln«f of Arabian PMry. 

} ** At the commencement of the ninth century, the Arabians were acquainted 
with the medicine, philosophy, and natural history of the Greeks : they possessed 
traiMiladMis of Hlppoeratet, Gkden, Tlwophrasttts, Ptolemy, Euclid, and Arls- 
toda.**'^«oe an «xeeIleQtartide on Arabian Literature In the flfthnmnber of the 
"•foreigBQuafMy." 

Eb 



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\ 



Mft. NATHANlEl 
234 

^nios, glory. «»dW*««^y '*'"*"' 
?^"si from the remotest pen 

diffused auenlighteB^andbem 
continent of Asia. Wben-. 
^hose monarchs -reigned fro 
IverahundredandBeventyan 

«flect npon its ancient gm. 
laws, manners, literature- at o 

tipeople steadily promoting 

TtL^ time torn and con 

tensions, we shall be present' 

tainty of national greatne^; 
«sudly follow the desolatn 
ments. 

The promulgation oi 
proBcription of all effor^ 
in unison with the ter 
knowledge was couta 

time among the Av 
the accession of th( 
revival of art and 
roun Alrashid, lb' 

• £sther, cb&p. \ 
empire of the ¥roT\d. 

the //jr#/**»pwi!tlft* 








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ON PERSIAH POETRY. 227 

All, without distinctioii. of rank or oonditioiii as if influ^iced 
by the spirit of duFalry, cludlenged each other to a trial of their 
skilly mider the graceffil banners of Poetry and Eloquence. 

Amidst all this princely patronage and literary competition, 
many poems of acknowledged excellence must h^vp been 
produced ; but not a yestige of Persian origin of any impor- 
tance has descended to us prior to the iSAoA nameh otFhrdauny^ 
although we read of other, poets who were in high repute 
before this period. But who can predict what specimens of . 
Ori^ital gf^ius may yet be discoTored, at a future period, 
under oiir enUghtened polity in the East, and liberal encour- 
ag^nent giren to literary inquirers? It is not unreasonable 
to suppose, that some valuable manuscripts in the sacred 
ZeiUlff or courtly Dm, or ruder PeUem dialect of Irdn, may 
have escaped Mohammedan proscription ; and may still exist 
in many parts of Asia, in the seclusion of libraries, or in the 
neglected depositories of religious edifices. Such works either 
of an hist(Nri<»l or poetical nature would be highly desirable ; 
and it is rational to expect fbrtfaer discoveries of Persian 
winrks, or nunre correct copies of those akeady known, when 
we consider what great efforts have been made, within a few 
years, finr the developemrat and difiiision of Sanscrit literature. 

* TbePerslaii tnuislation of Talmrl's TarHh Kublvt an historical woric, is 
tappoaed to haye been made Anno SUjrB 850, A. D. 061, some years before the 
appearance of the 8kak nameh by Firdausi, who died A. D. 1020. See Orient. 
ColL Tol. ii. p. 187, a work fUU of interest and learning' to the Oriental scholar. 

Tabari*8 Great Chronide is aboat to be pablisbed by Professor Kosegarten, 
of tlie Oriental diair at Greiftwald, with a Latin translation and learned notes. 
See Foreign Refi^w, No. 8. 

According to an article in the Edinburgh Review, for 1816, the Persian 
translation of the ** Duioleer** ia a yery ancient specimen of the language. Vol. 
xxYii. p. 300. Note, 

t This refined dialect was coltiTated with great assidaity at the court of 
BeharamChir, in the year 851 of the Christian era, to distinguish it from the 
Pekitvij or iangiiige of the country. 



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228 l^Ift* NATHANIEL HOWARD 

Among odiers, die learned Mr. Horeoe Wil«oii» of Calotttta, 
has enriched the world widi a recent translation of aeferal fiae 
specimens of the Indian Drama, a valuable SanscritDictionarjry 
a poetic version of the Megha Data, and other publications : 
to his extensive knowledge of Sanscrit as a scholar, nay be 
added the classic and high qualifications of a poet. If most, 
however, be remembered, that the first EoropeHi, whose genras 
broke through the barriers of Sanscrit learning, is Dr. WiUuns, 
to whom the Oriental world of letten is so deejdy and lastingly 
indebted. 

About the close of the tenth century of (ha Ghristitti ero» 
Sultan Mahmud reigned m die city of Ghezni. He was an 
illustrious patron of learned men ; and having acquired glory 
by the success of his sword, (for he was sufHrene nder of Za» 
blestdn, and part of Khorasdn, and had penetrated very fer into 
India,*) he turned his whole attention to the aggrandiaement 
of his country, and to the cultivation of useful knowledge. 
He framed a project of collecting into one great aad natjcmal 
poem, all the reigns of the Persian monorchs from the earliest 
times ; and gave directions to search into every accessiUe 
depository for chronicles and records, connected with the 
history of Irdn. By a happy accident, a valuable mannscrqpt 
was discovered admirably calculated fox this purpose^ contain* 
ing in one view, all the memorable fwts and events from the 
time of Kaiiimuras, the first king of the Peishdadian dynasty, 
down to the reign of Yezdejird, with whom the ancient race 
of the Persian kings became extinct. This rescued work is 
known by the name of SSuJurul Moluk^ or the Boston namA, 
and is said to have been found in the plundered library of 
Yezderjird; and since that time, to have passed tiu'ough'di^ 
ferent hands in Arabia, Ethiopia, and Hindoostan. But, 
whatever might be the true history of the manuscript, the 
Sultan was furnished with a copy of it; and seven of the best 

* See Sir W. Jones's «• Hi&tory of Uie Fenian Ungatge,*'. 



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ON P£SSUN POETRY. 289 

pocftB were eiQ;aged Id veraifying the work; but it was reser- 
▼ed fer tbe genius of Abul Ctiwnm Hasaa ben Mohammed 
to execute this vast uadertakii^. The ardour of his mind 
wa9 undiiBBiished in &e progress and accomplishment of this 
noUe work; and after many years of close application, the 
JSSmhmamdk was completed.* It astcmished the eastern world 
of letters. Mafamud ordered an elephant load of gold to be 
. pi^sei^ied to the author^ and also honoured him with the sur- 
name ef FbrdoMiif as having diffused over his court the 
deRghU ^P0radim the word FprdmiM signifying Paradue. 
But U appears that Firdansi had enemies at court ; and the 
chief minister, Ahmed Mymundi, was bent on the ruin of the 
favoured poet; in short, Firdausi Ml under the displeasure of 
Mahmud, and never received the expected reward of his 
labours, bat a present totally inadequate to his merits. He 
wrote a recriminadi^ and bitter satire on the injustice of the 
Sultan, and fled from his dominions. This celebrated satire 
breathed, in glowing language, the most exalted sentiments of 
a man conscious of hisown rectitude; .and under tbe conviction, 
that independaice of mind is not to be intimidated by the 
arbttrary will of power.t 

Allured in youth by the glare of poetical fame, and panting 
to participate in the capricious favours of the Siillan, this 
extraordinary man begged tbe holy benediction of his aged 
priest, and exchanged <tlie quiet of his native xnty T^ in 
Khorasdn, for the move attractive but more troublesome, 
splendour of the court of Ghezni. From this period to the 

* It ooonpied die poet thirQr 7«tfB, and was oompleted in the SSith year of 
the Hijra, (A. D. 994.) Thia poem has been translated into Arabic prose by 
Al Fetah ben A*ly al-Hendary, native of Ispahan, for the gnreat idng I*y<^ ben 
cl-A*adelAboQbdvbenAyyonb,andfini8hedin475of AeHyra. (A.D. 1976.) 
See Mens. Langlei* Notes to the Recherches Asiatiqoes, p. SS, torn. ii. 

t See a fine extraet of this satire in Sir WiUiam Janes' Ftoeaees Adaioo 
Conuttsn. Capst siiL 



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Bgg^MPg^lMJPf^—— ^— 1^1—^^^^! 



230 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

time of his death, he appears, to have been the faFOnrite of 
princes, the envy of courtiers, and the sport of fortune. His 
fondness for an only daughter is particularly instanced, and the 
height of hn ambition was to place her in the first circles of 
rank and fortune: and this circumstance is all we at present 
know of his domestic character. The period of his death is not 
precisely ascertained. SirWilliamOuseley fixes it in the year 
of the Hijra 411, (A. J). 1000.) • In the sath>e against Mab- 
mud, he acknowledges diat he was more dian seventy, and on 
a moderate calculation of the time he spent at Mazindurdn 
and Bagdad, he must have been at least eighty when he died. 

There are many extraordinary drcumstances connected widi 
the life of Firdausi, of which the truth may wdl be doubted, 
. and of which I forbear to give an account. Had not the 
publicatix)n of the Shah nam^f in eight folio volumes been 
suspended, the learned editor, Mr. Lumsden, intended in the 
last volume, to present a sketch of Firdausi's life, selected 
from the best authorities. 

The Skak namehj or history of the Persian kings, is univer- 
sally acknowledged to be the greatest monument of eastern 
genius. It has survived a period of more than e^ht hundred 
years, and its author has lost nothing of the admiradon due 
to his wonderful talents, either by the change of times and 
circumstances, or by the splendid train of poets who have 
succeeded him. Firdausi reigns unrivalled and alone in the 
higher regions of Poetry. 

The poem is said to consist of more dian sixty diousand 

* Oriental CoUeeUoiii, yoL ii. p. 187. Also hif Prefkce to the Tarikh Jehan 
Ara, p. xtIL 

t BCiijor Maean, well known for his ozteiiBiTe and acenrate knowledge of 
PersiaD, is now engac^ed a( Calcutta in a complete editioa of the Shahnaaeh. 



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ON PBB8IAN POBTRT. 281 

coopletSi* but it is a known fiict, that scareely two copies of 
this fn^eat work or indeed of any Persian poem, are scrupulously 
alike in the exact number of couplets, owing to the careless- 
ness, %norancey or vanity of transcribers, who alter, omit, or 
add, as tiidr fimcy may suggest. A collated and accurate 
edition of this prince of Asiatic poets was undertaken by order 
of Bayisungbur Khan, one of the descendants of the great 
Timour in die year of the Hijra 809, that is in the year 1425 of 
the Christian era, corrected from Tarious manuscripts found in 
the library of Bayisunghur, some of whidi are supposed to 
be nearly contemporary with Firdausi. ^ Could the corrected 
copy,'' says Mr. Lumsden, ^ be now obtained, it would very 
probably be found superior in pointof authority to every other; 
but the pre&ce being followed by a romantic account of the 
fiite of the BoMim fMom, before it M\ mto the hands of 
Firdausi, and by an account of the life of the poet, partly 
true and partly questionable, or absolutely false, has been 
therefore attadied to almost every extant copy of the Shah 
Namu, and among others to that of the Noowab Buhur 
Jung, which was finished, according to the authority of the 
transcribe, in the year of the Hyree 821, that is to say, eight 
years before the prefkce attached to it had been composed.''t 

Tlie rapidity with which some of the Persian writers rersi- 
fied, is a matter of astonishment; and the roluminous proofs 
still existing, evince, at least, the most unwearied diligence. 
Firdausi's facility in composing was wonderfully great; but 

* "According to the poet's own itatenMiit, he to the author of 60,000 eoiiplets, 
to which 4000 tre generaUy beUered to hsfe hees adfled, in ordet to complete 
the plan of the work, by Aradee e Tooiee, the friend and tutor of the poet.*' 

t The pnhlioation of m eonplete edition in eight feUo TolasMe, was prdjeoted 
afowyearsagoalOaleattm, by die learned Blr.LvnsdeOy collated from tweoty- 
seren mamscripts, by a body of natif as of sefcnowledged aeqdrements, bat only 
thelmVdviewupriBledattheHpMftbleCk«i|fiiy*spress,ln 1811. 



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232 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

the poet Rodnkiy his flaent predecessor, is said to hiv^ written 
more than a million yerses !* , 

The Shah nameh is ronarkable for its polish, and the musical 
cadence of its Yersification. The measure consists of eleven 
syllables, similar to the verse adopted by onr dramatic writers, 
with this exception, that the lines in the Persian always rhyme 
together in couplets ; and no language in the world is better 
adapted to poetry than the Persian, whether we consider its 
extent and sweetness, or its easy flexibility for the purposes of 
rhyme and verification. The language of Firdausi is nearly 
free from the intertexture of Arabic words, and is, in all 
probability, but little diffinrent from die dialect in use among 
the Persitos about the time of Mohammed, who declared, 
*^ Aat Persian would be spoken in die gardens of Pftrtulise, on 
account of its extreme sweetness^f 

As the poem comprdiends die tradkional history of Irin 
from the remotest period,^ die author takes advantage of so 
extensive a field of observation for the display of poetical 
invention. The wide circuit of Oriental knowledge expands 
subservi^t to the will of die poet ; he looks around <m the 
whole range of past events, and, like a powerful magician, 
calls up around him a creation of endiantment and fiction. 
The chivalrous manners of other times are masterly pictures 
under his hand, and the g^rander passions of human natnre are 
strikingly pourtrayed. Broad tottcbes of pathos, apt similes, 

* Aecording to an OrioiUl dlflsertadon entitled Yamini, Rodnki, who pre- 
ceded Firdausi about flftj years, oompoeed one ndiUon, three hundred Terses ! 

t Sir William Jones. 

t ^*The Shah Nanra,*' says Mr. Lumsden, ** embraces within the sphere of 
its action tlie whole ranfe of Servian histoiy, eHendin^ iimn the lefgn of 
Kuyoonoorsythe first king whose name is recorded in traditional story, down to 
the reign of Prfaioe TeB^jird, under whose goTemment the empire of Per^ was 
finally subverted by the sutoesilU iofieioo of its Moohammodaii eooqaeron.*' 



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ON PERSIAN POETRY. 233 

find strong metaphor^ abontid in hk work. Conceptions of 
ELstonii^biDgf grandeur often Btart forth, and a dame of genius 
is almost constantly kept alive* It r^, perhaps^ to be regretted, 
that tbe author bad not oftener made use of the mytholog-y of 
Romance,* and called into action the world of supernatural 
beings, the poetic creation of his own country, which could 
not have failed to have added interest to tbe conduct of bis 
poem : but such imag'ioary a^istance was introduced only on 
desperate occasions. t 

Id an historical poem ofsueb magiiitude, comprising at least 

a period of three thousand seven hundred years, much poetical 

machinery was necessary to animate andcmbellinb tbe reigns of 

some of tbe Persian Mouarchs> and to break the dull arrange* 

meat of events incident to the nature of tbe work. But a skilful 

complication of circumstances, an artifice to raise mystery or 

uncertainty, and to eKcite and keep in suspense the interest of 

the reader, are excellences not to be found in the Shah uam^h^ 

Battles succeed battles, heroes follow heroes, stories relating 

to each other, are ingrafted on stories ; and in so long a poem, 

the reader must be prepared to expect uninteresting details 

and tedious narratives j but it must be confessed, that many of 

tbe epui^des are truly ex^juisite, and his personal descriptions, 

whether of heroes or of female beauty, have im common merits 

His battle^cenes are in general, described with much spirit 

• IraHr or Persia may perhaps he considered as th* birth-pkce of romance; 
horn thi» country ii emanated into Arabia and other pfert^. The Arttbian Tales ^ 
of a tkoMxtind and on/e ni^kU, are aow genemlly belisTed to be of PorsJan or 
Indian orient and adupted to ttie national taste of the Arabian*. Von Hammer^ 
from a passage In Masudl, la tlecidcdly of opluioathat the Arabiaa NLg^hlsare 
of Intiian or Peisian origin, and ivere denominated Uesttr J^ffiJi, or '^ The 
Thousand Fables," He tMnki the tale» wore tr&n^latod from tbe Persian into 
Arabic tu Che reign of the Calif Al Mamun, 

t See Seott Waring^'a Tour to Slur«z, p. IGL Many beautiful passages 
from the Bhabnameh and other Pertko workSf are q^uoted in tids very bterenbg 
tear. 



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234 ME. NATHANIBL HOWARD 

and picloresqne effect. As a spedmen,! beg to extract the 
combat between Gord-afrid and Sohrab, which is exactly the 
Clorinda of Tasso engaging Tancred in the third canto of 
Giemsalemme Liberata. I am aware that the natural effect 
of translation must be inferior to the original, I have how* 
ever attempted a tolerably close version. 

Sohrab, a young warrior, the legitunate, but as yet the 
unacknowledged son of the celebrated Rostum, condacfing 
the Turanian armies against Irdn, is opposed in his progress^ 
at the ** White Fortress," by the formidable Hiy ir, whom the 
youthful hero meets in single combat, and after a hard straggle^ 
overthrows. Gord-afrid* a warlike princess and spectatress of 
the combat, is plunged in the greatest distress at the discom^ 
fiture of the champion, and resolves to wreak vengeance on 
the youthftil conqueror. After the ovisrtbrow of Hujir, As 
poet proceeds thus: 

Fair Oord-afrld, Uie martial maid* 

This sad disoomfttiire iiinrey'd. 

Saw her bold Chai^ioii captife aade^ 

And shed abltter iood of woe : 
Sighs from the royal maiden came. 
And, though keen anguish shook her frame. 
It kindled in her breast a flame 

To wreak prompt Tenganoe on the foe. 

She sobb*d, as if her heart would break ; 
While Itte a tolip blnsh*dher cheek: 
WhatcanriMdof In beanteona haste 
Her Mr ronad limbs in mail she brac*d ; 
Her head a€lreciaa helmet t grae'd. 

Momtfing her charger, onward prano*d 
The warrior maid. Pds*din her hand 

A dasiiing light her jaYetin glancU 

Floating beftnre the Toran band, 
A ftdcon in her flight she came : 

* (ford«q/rlcf literally sigidfles Wanior'b&m. 

t Firdansi frecpiently mentions the ** Gredan helmet.'* 



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ON PERSIAN POETRY. 235 

" Champions I tf any bear tbat uiDf » 
Give nie^" she cried, *^ m single flght, 
A warnioTotsd, generous kn%ht. 

Who in the Itsis of anus has thriveo t— 
WtUnone ibe blow of Talour deal ? 
Of all who grace yoar Uaes of steel 

W0 D0Ge accept my cbaJlenf e given V* 

The youthful Hero thus delled, 
Was wrolh, and bit hit Up of pride : 
'* Another deer to strike or kill — 
Cotne on, young W&nior, hate tby aa^HI/' 

In banusfi*d helm and coirass dreasM, 
Onward his fretted »t^d he pressed* 
In rlral gallantr^r and grace. 
The combatants met f^ce to fice. 
8 he seem*d a knight of cornel j show, 
And twang-M alert her golden bow^ 
And opened all her arrowy play 
A^akst thai crated bird of prey* 
From right to left, despite his mail. 
He rued the pelting iron bail i 
And bitterly that brunt he took* 
Still foit'd In every ilirust and stroke. 
At len^, to barntng fyen^y wrought, 
Hb buckler o^'er his bead he brought ; 
Sternly the tempest he witbitood^ 
Though many a point had tasted blood. ' 

With dexterous easct ber bow yet strung', 

The moid across her shoulder ftmi^. 
Then urg'd ber aleed lo full career, 
And, riiing, whirled a wrathful spear 
On griCT'd Sobrabj who stoophsg low 
Hung aide way from the erring blow. 

He, like a tiger, in that fray, 
Or barst of lightning, on her rose 
Dilated la bb might, to close 
With one dire erusK the doubt fill day* 
^ He threw his ponderous spear, nor mln'd ; 
The keen^oint enteriDg at ber wHst^ 



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396 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

And glancing upward, grazM her breast, 
Finding its way out by her crest. 

Sohrab, with desperate Tigonr fraught. 

Struck at her girdle-belt so true. 

The faithless armour piece-meal flew. 

He hurl'd his spear with giant force. 

Which push'd her midway off her horse : 
She stagger8,-<»but the spear well caught, 

Quickly a scimitar she drew, 

And cut th* offenslTe shaft in two. 

Stem to the Youth she rais'd her head, 

Thoujgh not his equal — fair awhile 

False Hope and Fortune seem*d to smile. 
Bat, fickle now as eyer, fled. 

The Victor, with his sweeping blow. 

Comes in harsh contact with his Foe, 

Strikes off the helmet from its place. 

And sees, surpris'd, a Woman's Uae! 

Her look, her bloom, her braided hatr 

Might well a Taliant heart insnare. 

Sohrab, to hide, his blushes, strove. 

But largely, deeply, drank of Ioyo: 

'* Yes— Iran's * maids haye wonderous charms. 

Their beauty matchless as their arms I 

Fly not, sweet Valour I for *tis rare 

A Deer, like you, conies to my snare, 

O tell me. Princess, why you court. 

Dread War,— -to man e*en dangerous sport 2 '^ 

Slow to the Youth thus loye-assail'd, 
Her eyes, her yisage she unyell'd. 
Forwhatcanbaflled^ydo, 
But set her loyeliness to yiew t 
She baited well her sweet discourse. 
With melting words of winning force : 

^hram has both syUables loni^, bat it is cnstomary to accent It on the last. 
This word is written Htm In the inscripUons of Kirmam ihah, but the learned 
Silyestre de Sacy obseryes, that In the ancient dialect of Persia r and I are 
often eonfoonded, See Recherches Aslatlqaes. Tom. 9f p. 70. 



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ON PERSIAN POETRY. 237 

** Warrior ! thy bravery's worth I know, 
Thoa parriest well a Woman's blow. 
Thy soldiers deem me yet a knight, 

But if thesa tresses dark I show, 

Soldiers the ready gibe will throw. 
And bid dishonour on thee light. 
I should be loath they wrong thy skill, — 
So keep my sex a secret still. 
Meantime, I tender to thy care 
Our fortress, and our treasurea there.'* 

When Oord-aftid her Teil withdrew. 
Her cheeks seem'd rosea bath'd in dew ; 

Warm blushing, as when morning dawns. 
Shaming the peach in Uoom and hue ; 

While firom her eyes, so like the fawn's, 

Shelangh'd up Ioto in every glance. 

And plnng'd Sohrab in strangest trance I 
Stni to his gaze she lovelier grew— 
StUl opening graces dawn'd to view. 

**Heed well your promise. Maid of War, 
The castle's ponderous gates unbar : 
And if you reck not what you hear, 
Ye know the prowess of my spear. 
We snap the reed on which you trust. 
And raze your fortress to the dust" 

The'Princess nought in antwer gave. 
But turning quidL her charger brave, 
Right to the castle won her way. 
Triumphant in her Beauty's sway.* 

The following description of the Persian army, inarching to 
battle, possesses in the original much g^phic effect. 

The army mov'd in dose array ; 

The earth seem'd moving aa they past ; 
Each banner drank the flames of day ; 

Eadi shield a knot of sunbeams east. 

One parting squadron shap'd their way 
Across a desert, where the eye 

* See Persian Extncts-*Appendix, No. 8. 



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238 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

Descried lor shrab, nor terdire nigh; 

The iron land was bald and dry. 
Careering dust in clouds op flew, 

Where'er the datterlng horsemen rode ; 
The sky was Indigo in hne, 

^As ebony the groimd they trod.* 

From stage to stage, in flying liaste. 
O'er plain, o'er hill, o'er lengtheniBg waste. 
The legions darkening as they went, 
Chtve life to miles of throng'd extort. 
Their arms, so dagriing their display, 
Dimm'd the 'odd radianoe of the day. 

Their polish'd tridents, spariLUng spears, 

Seem'd through the dost that hong between. 

Dun iires behind an asnre sereen. t 
One broad effnlgenoe all appears ! 
From banners, lanoes, golden shields. 

And Ught-gold sandals, yon would say 
Some opening dond, blu6-bosom*d, yields 

Showers of btighl amber oW the way. * 

The episode of Sohrab conclades with the hapless deadi of 
the noble youth, who fell by the hand of his own father. The 
agony of Rostum, on discovering his youthful antagonist to be 
his son by the sight of the well known hraoekiy now first 
presented to his view; his paroxysm of aognish and remorse, 
in setting flames to his snp^b green pavilion and banners, 
which had so intensely interested his anxiously-inquiring son, 
when he first saw the Persian encampment from a distant emi- 
nence: and the frantic and inconsolable sorrow of Tafamfnah, 
on learning the death of her ill-fated Sohrab, are finely 
described by Firdausi, and constitute, perhaps, die most beau- 
tiful part in the jSfto&naiieA. The prescribed limits to which this 

* See Persian Bxtraets— >Appendlz, No. 4* 

t See Persian Bxtf act i —A ppendix No. 5. 

* Literally thns: '*From the nnmerons jaTelins, banners, golden shields, 
and golden slippers, thon wonldst have said that ebony-ooloiired douds were 
showering down Sandaraca.** See Appendix, No. 6. 



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ON PERSIAN POBTRT. 239 

paper must be confined, will only allow me to translate freely 
a part of the combat ofRostum and Sohrab. 

SzlNiiutodf'btflled, each unclasps 

His frustrate hold, o'erspent and slow ; 
Sohrab Ida maoe that instant grra8|)s. 

And, quickly levelling, stuns his foe. 
Not long^ lay ;— for, when he felt 

Btftuming sense, and sight, and breath. 
Panting he rose, and loosM his belt, 

Bmsh*d from his brow a damp like death: 
Then, raisM his troubled eye, and pray*d 
For power and supernatural aid. 

Again they wrestle, limb to limb. 

They writhe, they deal the stunning blow ; 

Their eyes with gore and dust half-dim, 
While down the blood and toil-drops flow. 

Thehr heads and throats are backward east ; 

The bloody struggle cannot last,— • 

The Youth grows faint in heart and power. 

And Fortune, in tliat dark*ning hour. 
Abandons him to worse than woe. 

Look, look— 4o horrid frenzy wrung. 

His nerres with force unnat'ral strung, 

TheRo6tumUfts^-he sways him round. 

By Heaven ! he brings him to the ground ; 
But hopes not to secure him there- 
Alas I the lifted blade is bare, 

A moment more, and all is done. 
The Fatbbu, with a madman's air. 

Plunges the poniard in his Som ! 

** Brave heart ! the Touth, feint sighing, said, 
** Since thou hast spilt this blood of mine. 
Know, Destiny will thirst for thine, 

Nor rest, 'tiU thy heart's blood be shed. 

O oould I see my Father's ftee. 

Far dearer than ray life now spilt, 
*Twould soothe me e'en in death*s embrace.*— 

But, hide thee, stranger, where thou wilt. 



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240 MR. NAXaANIEL HOWARD 

In gloom, where light its indle iie*er threw. 
In air, or under oeeui^s flood. 

My Father RonuM will pursne 
And slake his Tengeanoe In thy blood.** 



StonnM Rostom indisthictly heard his i 
A damp, a dreary horror seizM his frame ; 
Sight, memory, sense, forsook his wilderM brain, 
He fell as one by lightning struck, and slain ! 

At length, he woke as from a dream 
Of harrowing torments dark and wild ; 

He rose, and with a stifled scream, 
Gaz*d Tacantly upon his child I 

'* O dear one I curse me not— 4hough I haTe shed 
Thy life-blood,-*heap not curses on my head. 
Fob, I AM RosTUM !— One, ere now. 
With nothing damning on my brow. 
Nor hurried blindly to destroy 
My braTe, my beauteous, only Boy I — 
What! can I think on this, and live? 

No, no**— he cried, and gasM on Hearen. 

• • • • • 

• « • « * 

The Father o*er his Son bewildered knelt, 
Unlac*d the mail, undid the galling belt. 

And laid Ids lab*riug bosom bare : 
Great God ! upon his arm a proof too true, 
•The well-known Bracklbt met his startled Tiew!- 

The Father starap*d ; he tore his hair, 

In all the haggardness of woe ; 

And yet no burning tears would flow. 

Sohrab, though near life*s latest throe, 
Look*d all the Son forth from his eyes. 
And thrice he tried, in Tain, to rise ; 
** Nay, Father, sob not— 4his is worse 

To bear than death-pangs, or to fUl 
Beneath a Parentis dreaded curse. 

Or pine and pine In foreign land ; 
Of deaths, *tis sure, the best of all. 

To perish by a Father's hand.** 



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ON PfiRSlAN l>OtfrBT.%^ 



At tills mometit, the father, in great agony of miDil^ sendn 
GodurZf the Persian Nestor, to the Shah Ka-^08, requeicrtiti^ 
the medicated draugfht, or soTcreigfti bali^Htn, which had puwer 
to arrest the pro^es^i of deaths but the Shah unfeelingly 
refuses to part with it» and the youth dies. • 

Distracted Fnther ! what a? all 
Thy ^ormeiita rent, thy frantic vrail ? 
Why scatter duat upon thy hair I 
Why ffimw thy Imods, as fault lay there f 
*' Wretch that ! am ! how coul4 I thirst 
For kindred blo^d I — Father ft«ettrst I 
When Iho sad tolOf with many a tear, 
Shall reach his doaling iiicither*^ ear. 
How will she loattu in horror wild, 
The mardercr of her gtoriouE^ child f 
Abandon *d to the aiorm of woe, 

Hov vrlll she wrin^ her handi and $hHet£ I 
And can i^he bear the shor^k ! ah no ! 

Dear G<id 1 ft mother^* heart will break/* 

O'er Rositim^s mind no comfort beftm*d; 
I Thefi5 alL was dark, thero sorrow seemed 

To set a gloom so deep aod drear* 
WMch not theamibof honvea could ehi!cr> 

Mcantlmo the pr«eloU9 corpse thoy bid 
In silenec!, otj the solemn bier ; 

And o'lir th<? ptitlid face thoy spread 

A reg&l minUe of brocade^ 

Slowly moT'd on !he saddenM iraiw-, 
And loudly faU*d the fuoeral strain,; 
Soldiers, long worn in arms as years. 
With youthful warriors mixM their tcari* 
The sacred burden^ sad and slow, 

Near Hostum's gorgeous tent they bore ; 
When lo ! In one great burst of woe. 

As life and war, at once, were o'eTf 

The Father, witJi a burning inreh, 
In 6ames st^t all his martial show; 

The jiroud paf lUon, banner *d porch, 
lYlazM in a laaw of ^pouling Uro f 

Q a 



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242 ^R* NATHANIEL HOWARD 

Mid crackling smoke, red tiirges roHM 
0*er Us dimm'd throne, and bed of fold ! 
All eyes upon that flaming pyre 
Are bent, and wailings fierce and high 
Rose with that brilliance to the sky. 
And that green canopy's display. 
Nought, but a bed of ashes, lay. 
Thus vanishM all his pomp : — so all 
However grreat, to dust most ftdl. 

The excessive grief of the mother, and the circumstances 
attending the remoyal of the body to Sejestan (a province 
held with Zabulstan by Rostum, as a fief from the Shah of 
Irin,) are too long to be introduced in this paper. 

Many poems in professed imitation of the Shah nameh have 
been written, as the Sam, Lohrasp, Gurshasp, Sohrab, Buh- 
mdn, and Isfundiyar namehs ; most of these works, we are 
informed by Mr. Lumsden, are still extant, but that he was 
not able to procure anywhere a single copy, though the acqui- 
sition of such poems would have been of great service in 
detecting interpolations, and correcting the text of Firdausi. 

The Persian poets are remarkable for their minute description 
of beauty, and are sure to mention frag^rance as its inseparable 
accompaniment. The usual metaphor for a graceful form is the 
cypress, or sabin tree; the eye is compared to the narcissus; 
and a beautiful countenance to the moon. The black musky 
ringlets, die slow languish of a dark eye, the arched eye-brow, 
the r^^larly set teeth, are always distinctly described, from 
Firdausi, down to the Persian poets of the present day, as 
essential to female beauty.* 

* A Persian writer has applied no less than six compounds in the following 
conplet in praise of his mistress, and which may be regarded as general epithets. 
**A moon-fkced, musk-scented, heart-alluring, soul-delighting, heart-deceh1ng» 
moon-like (beauty.) See Sir W. Jones's Persian Grammar, admirably improved 
by the learned Professor Lee, page 80. 



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ON PEHSIAN POETRT. 24^ 

KliakaiLt says* " tby eye-brow is like the new moon, "• Fir- 
dausi, describing Manizha atid Sitara, the daughters of Kivg 
Afmsiab, beautifully adds ; "Witli tbem are Turkish girls, all 
with their faces veiled, all with forms like the cypress, and 
locks like musk; all with cheeks full of roseJi, eyea full of 
deep; all with lips full ofwiue^ with the fragrance of rose* 
water/'t 

>Sfaake8peare isays : 

**Mj LoTe, her mistress, U a gracious Moon^*' X 

*' She came in ttU her beauty, like the Noon from the cloud of tim €aaF." Oitmn* 

It uiay be here obaerred^ that a young fawn» or gazelle* 
conveys an image of peculiar tenderness to the mind of an 
Asiatic^ and is a term often applied to a beautiful woman, 

J*^rdausi^ like MoTneti gives nincli colonrt strength and con- 
ciseness to bis similes, Horner^ for example, represents a chief 
in war, iatm \toPTa^ like a lion, \vmi «#£, like wolves. So 
jFlrdausi describes a hero rushing to battle **like a raging 
lion," § "like a wolf/' or " mad elephant," ** like a crocodile, 
or '' like a moving mountain/' 



1 



Many a periphrasis, in the true spirit of Poetry, may be 
found among Arabic as well as Persian poets, A few of the 
more general expressions may be mentioned* Hafez calls 
, ** the flaming ruby,"|| " the liquid ruby/* which is nearly 



• Bee PersiaD Extracts — AppenJlx^No^S. 
t See Pemaa ExtrsctE — Appendix, No. 0, 

t Lore's Labour Lost, Act 4, 8» 3. St^ al»o CorbUioiig, Act 5, 8. 3. For 

more on this subject, see Atkinson's elegant notes to his free Tersioa of Sohrab, 

\ See Persian E^tracts^^ Appendix, No. 10» 
II Sae Persian Extract*— Appendix, No, 1 1, 



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244 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

the language of Milton, who calls fdne 'Uhe dancing ruby 
sparkling out-pour'd/' Mohammed, however, st^matises 
trine as " the mother of sinners."* Sir William Jones, in his 
beautiful Latin Commentaries on Asiatic Poetry, remarks that 
Abu^loltty an Arabian poet, desigfnates doves as '* the daughters 
of sadness ;"t echo is called '< the daughter of the mountain ; "f 
and wine^ ^^ the daughter of the grape ; "§ and he shews that 
the Greek poets use the same figure of speech, for Pindar calls 
wincy afiwtKov TToi^a, "the son of the vinef^ and showers^ 
vai^ac vefeXt^Ci " the children of the cloud ;" and day, he terms 
irai^' aXiovy "the child of the sun." Cheeremonll in l6 calls 
flowers eapoi TBKva^ "the children of spring :** and it may 
be added that Horace calls a ship^ fabricated from a pine-tree, 
sylrcB filia nobilis, " the daughter of a noble wood." 

Among many allusions to which Asiatic poets are attached, 
the poetic love of die " Rose and Nightingale " is most 
frequent. The Persian bulbul is said to resemble our night- 
ingale in the compass and excessive sweetness of its notes. It 
sings by night, and its melody is by no means suspended 
during the day .IT Jami says, " You may place a hundred 
handfuls of fragrant herbs and flowers before die nightingale, 

* See Persian Extracts— -Appendix, No. 18. 

t See Persian Extracts— appendix, No. IS. Ah! these daughters of sadness 
render me sleepless. 

X See Persian Extracts— Appendix, No. 14. In the Syriac tcko is styled the 
«< daughter of voice." The Italians call the nightingale " Tooe pennata,** '* the 
feathered voice.*' 

§ See Persian Extracts— Appendix, No. 16. 

II yidei4fAefi.Ub.xiii. 

f See Sir William Ooseley^s Persian Miscellanies, page 140. 



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ON PfiR8IAN POETRY. 245 

yet he wkhea not, ia hk cotistant heart, for more than Ibi* 
(5ueet br^tli of his beloved rose."* 

Exc^^fiBtve and ovei^tmined metaphors, and an unnatural 
inflation of language, are fantts ascribed to Asiatic poets in 
general. In many instances, particularly among inferior an- 
thors, the acensation may be admitted as just; but "we also 
know tliat a similar censure may be passed on many European 
writers of no elevated genius. In the Eastern climate, it must 
be confessed, that this growth of false taste seems to be more 
prevalent; but a warm imaginatioti, under ibe influeuce of a 
burning sun and a luxurious system of life, will not readily 
submit to the rules of a cold and severe judgment; besides, 
which, Asiatic works on the principles of Poetry and Rhetoric 
are of an unpbilosophic description, and possess no power to 
regulate public taste. The Oriental poets seem to have been 
left entirely to the ebullitions of their glowing imaginations, 

We may question, too, whether the accusation of extrava- 
gance and bombast may not rather attach to Eastern writers 
of prose rather than of verse ; for this vice of style seems to 
have originated in the slavish adulation and hyperbolical 
language usually oflTered up^ in petitions, at the throne of 
Asiatic monarcbs, whose vanity will not be satisfied unless 
overwhelmed with a torrent of high sounding epithets. It is, 
therefore, to be feared, that m?uiy Europeans, judging only 
from the inflated language of the court, have passed an indis- 
criminate sentence upon all Asiatic writers; though, it must 
be confessed, that many excellent authors^ from a mistaken 
notion of ciothiug their thoughts in dignified language, have 
too often degenerated into inflation and bombast, 

Firdausi seldom indulges tn a turgid and extravagant style; 
but a simple and beautiful diction pervades the whole poem. 

' Seo Persian Extrncls — AppenJiii No. 10, 



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246 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

In SO long a work many inequalities will necessarily be found; 
and Firdausi may be charged with occasional puerilities of 
thought, and meanness of expression ; but he is seldom guilty 
of die Ibarati Rengheen,* or flowery style, in which subse- 
quent poets have more or less indulged. 

Sadist who is, perhaps, the next poet to Firdausi in excd- 
lence, makes use of the flowery style in some part of his 
dedications and poetical prefaces; but many of his bobs or 

* Not only poets, bat writers of prose too often indulge themseWes in this 
vidous style. We may quote from soTeral authors, but one specimen from the 
4khlak MuhMiny of Hussein Vaiz Kashifl will suffloe. <'The falcon of the 
wisdom of each perfect man takes its flight in the atmosphere of the pnuse of 
Alexander, for this reason, that the phoBuiz of his ambition did not stoop her 
head to the bone of the firagments of this world. Verses : Thou, the lalcon of 
the royal wrists, look not upon bones ; gi?e a lofty flight to the phcenix of thy 
ambition.*' This is a literal translation. 

Notwithstanding the numerous instances of the IbaraH Rengheen in his 
writings, Kashifi is an author of great merit. His Anwari Soheily, or Persian 
paraphrase of the Kalila Dumna, or Pilpay*s Fables, in fourteen chapters, is an 
elegant work. It was finished in the end of the 15th century, when he resided 
at the court of Sultan Hussein Abul Ghazy Behadnr, soferelgn of Khorasan. 

SeTcral eoneetU from Marino, and other minor poets of Italy and Spain, are 
nearly of the same colouring ; firom our own poetry of the time of Elizabeth 
we may gather many of these wild conceits, and not a few in Shakespeare. The 
romantic wish of Juliet that her Romeo ** might be cut out into little ttan after 
his death, and made to adorn the face qfthe heavens" is of this sort : also wheo 
our immortal poet, describing the blood on the body of the murdered Duncan, 
says— 

** Here lay Duncan, his eilver skin lae*d with bis golden blood.*' 

In another place he exclaims, in the true spirit of an Asiatic*^ 
*' Her bed is India— there she lies a pearl.** 

t Musle-Huddeen Shaikh Sadi is called by Jami *nhe nightingale of thr 
grofes of Shiraz.*' Bee Persian Extracts— Appendix, No. 17. 



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ON PERSIAN POETRY. 247 

cbapterg m tlie GutwtoMf'* and Im poem entitled Bostnn^ 
are models of elegant writing, and generally free from tbin 
blettufifa. 

The Gulutan^ or Bose^Garden '\^ the most celebrated pro- 
duction of Sadi; it exhibits sentiments of liberty and iudepen* 
deuce, which seem ill-suited to the slavish adulation which 
surrounds an eastern court. Tbe whole work i^ an intermixture 
of prose and verse of nearly equal proportions. The style of 
the prose is of a novel description, when compared with the 
prose iu use among Europeans; for it is highly ^oli^hed, and 
part of it poetical, a kind of composition known ^mong the 
Orientals by the name of Mertij^jaz having measure without 
rhyme « Sadi is fond of antttht^is, so that one part of his 
sentence is often a balance to the other : and bis pro^e is 
oecasiotially sprinkled with rhyme, which is a species of com- 
position called Memj^jah, having rhyme without measure. 
The work consists of eight Mj^>^ or chapters containing tales 
or apologues on the eonduet of kings; un the morals of dur- 
weshes; on the excellence of content; on the advantages of 
taciturnity; on love and youth; on imbecility and old age; 
on the effects of educatiou ; and rules for conduct in life. 

The fifth chapter on love and youth is (he most exceptionable 
in a moral point of view, and the language is intentionally 
ambiguous, and sown thicker with Arabic sentences than 
either of the other chapters. 

The Boston is a long and regular poem in rhymed couplets^ 

* TheQulistan w^ finished A« D, 12fid. OenLios has imbUshed a Latin 
traaslation of it, undet the name of nosarium FQtUicMttt* Mr. Gladwin tritn£- 
laled tht^ Guliat&n Inlo EogLUhf and Mr. Rosa ho^ lately piiblisbi'd aDolher 
EDgli&h TerMoD of the work, and {vromiAei the pabVic atranslaEion of the Bostan, 
iwblch Is a great desideratani. Anew edUlon of the originaJ Pcrsjaa has lately 
b«cn publkbed tLt Caleutta, viith a com|>cndiaus commentary, and dicdonary of 
the more difflcuU words, by Moolvy JuixmuEuddy* 



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248 MR. NATHANIEL HOWARD 

of'the same measure as the Shah namehy the works of Nizdmi^ 
aud other voluminous authors. The imagery and sentiments 
are of a very high order, and the language is, in genera], 
beautifully simple. Among other productions of Sadi, we 
may enumerate the Molamaatj or the Rays of Light, a collec- 
tion of miscellaneous poems ; six Rasallahs, or tracts in prose; 
a Diwarif or collection of Oazeb or odes ; Arabian and Persian 
Ccuidahs or elegies; a variety of mystical Oazehj dirges, 
and other poems. The KhuMsaat^ or prose and poetry on 
impure and ludicrous subjects, is also attributed to him, a 
composition decorated with all the graces of seductive poetry. 
If Sadi be really the author of this work, (of which there is 
little doubt,) it is lamentable to think, that one capable of 
producing poetry of so much beauty and morality, should at 
another time, so far prostitute his talents, as to add the most 
tempting fascinations to licentiousness and sensuality. It is 
said, however, that he afterwards endeavoured, in an Arabic 
introduction to that work, to palliate it by observing, that he 
thought it would communicate a relish to his moral productions, 
as ** salt is used in the seasoning of food.'' 

Sadi was one of the Shaikhs, or superiors of the religious 
order of Durweshes, a kind of Mohanunedan monks ; and 
spent all his life in travelling into foreign countries. He lived 
to a very advanced age, upwards it is said of a hundred years,* 
and was buried at Shiraz, his native city, which Baron Revicski 
calls the " Jlthens of PergiaJ' 

Mohammed Shemseddin, sumamed Hafi2,t is the most 
popular poet of Irdn. He was born at Shiraz, and enjoyed 

* Dowlat Shah and Ibrahim Khan affirm that Sadi lived a hundred and two 
years ; but Jami reports him to have been older. AU-ben-Ahmad enumerates 
twenty-two books as the entire works of Sadi. See the English version of the 
Gulistan, by James Ross, Esq. 

t Ht{fiz signifies accurate ob$erv(Uion and perfection. 



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ON PERSIAN POETRY. S49 

the luunificeitt patronage of Timour, iiDproperly called 
Tamerlane. In bis youth he was addicted to comririal plea* 
sure» atid dissipation ; but toward the decline of life he 
devoted himself entirely to religious duties and penance : and* 
notwithstanding the liberality of his patrons^ he died in neees-^ 
f;itous circumstauoas, and was buried at Mosella, near Sbira2« 

The works of Hatiz chiefly consist of GazetSf differing only 
from the Camdahf elegy or rather idyl, as to length; for the 
Ga^el seldom exceeds seventeen couplets^ and sometimes only 
seven or eight ; and the ShiJi^hayit^* or last stanza, generally 
includes the Tokhullus^ or poetic name of the writer, Thia 
species of ode is a little gein as to polish, delicacy^ and beauty | 
lively images aod picturesque ex pressiions impart elegant life to 
it. Hafiz is unrivalled in this kind of graceful poem ; he resem* 
liles Anacreon^ or rather Horace in some of his lighter piecesi 
and the tender spirit of Petrarch breathes in others. He is said 
to have MTitten at least six hundred guzeU^ t but manuscripts 
vary as to the number of these little poems. His images are 
drawn fresh from nature^ and in mo^t instances are aptly ap* 
plied. In his most elevated ode, he is carried away by a hold 
and abrupt spirit almost amounting to sublimity j but the 
subject of love and conviviality is more congenial to bis 
feelings.; Whether the allusions to the sakey or cup»bearer, 

-I 

* Shak-bajfit, or bing-conpleL 

^ St« Appendix to Binillej'a Hafle* About a hundred of Ihese gazeU haf • « 
been tranBlatcd by Hevlc^ki, Jones, Oyseley, Iliodkyf Nott^ and WahL 

t As a specimen of Hafiz, tho foOowiBg literal Tcrsion of one of his fa^elft 
Tufty afford an tmperfect Idea ; I iTomUEo from the Lithographle odltioo^ pub^ 
Usbed at CatcaUa, I B2d. ^ 

Sweet is lb* atea ofibe pardon bpsioiitEis pleas a re^ aid the soeiety of fflendf , 
May the season of ro«e9 be propitious, for tbat is tbe time agreeable to win« 
drinkers. 

Our aonl is sweetened by tt<r\ fr^grtai breatb of the morning breete : ye% 
jm — and the pei-fume of tbe sotUi of loTer» is iwaet* 

Th^ luopeiied ro«e«Tdl haa ibown its iatention of depirtui-i; maka thy 

II w. 



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250 1^^ NATHANIEL HOWARP 

saj&eqaent in Hafiz and other Sufi poets^ are to be referred t# 
the ardour of devotional mysticism and all^ory, or to be 
understood in a plain sense, is doubtful, t Many of his odes 
partake largely of the religion of die Sufies, which ^appears 
to be a compound of the philosophy of Plato and Berkeley. 
They conceive that die light or spirit of Grod illuminates all 
diings, and wbich, being reflected on us, is the cause of our 
perceptions. Persuaded of this truth, they behold all things 
with sympathy, as sharing in common with themselyes in the 
bounties of the Essential One."* 

The Mcunavif is a iaf ourite species of verse, in couplets, 
consisting of eleven syllables, with a strong accent on the last 
syllable of each foot.^ Long poems are written in this mea- 
sure. The Masnavi is generally employed on subjects of lov^ 
or on descriptions of a cheerful and delightful kind, as the 

lamentation, O nightingale ! for soonds from the heart of wounded lopen art 
iweet. 

May the night-warbling bird bring joyfbl tidings, since in the road of love its 
nightly complainings are sweet to sleepless lojers. 

Althoogh in the bazar of the world there is nothing of heart-happiness, ezeept 
Its name, the blandishments of the ni6jf draught, and the cheerftdness of the 
temperate are sweet. 

From the tongne of the lily this Toioe came to my ear, that, in this doll, worn- 
out age, the occupation of the light-burdened is sweet. 

O Hafiz I to bid adieu to the ways of the world is dear to the heart, so do not 
suppose that the drcnmstances of the worldly-minded are pleasant. 

t See more on this subject in Hindley*s Hafiz, p. 8, 

* Scott Waring*s Tour to Shiraz, p. 320. BeautiM Torsions of some of the 
odes of Hafiz, Mohtushim, Ruqueeb, and Jam!, are to be found in this yery 
interesting tour. 

t Or according to the Arabic pronunciation Matknavi, 

X Sir William Jones exemplifies the measure in the following Latin dlsticb— 

Jane pater, Jane tuens, omnium 
Prindpium, fons, et origo Deum. 



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ON PERSIAN POETRT. 251 

charms and pleasures of spring* : or, in a word, on any subject, 
whatever be its length, of an agreeable or pathetic nature, and 
capable of being embellished with the graces of poetry. 

Nizimi is an author of great excellence in this species of 
poem. He is remarkable for his strength of conception, rich- 
ness of imagery, and for diction, in general fresh and beautiful ;* 
but the frequent terseness and compression of thought in his 
couplets render him often obscure and mysterious. Some of 
his poems are avowedly allegorical, and deeply imbued with a 
qpirit of Sufeism. Nizimi is also valuable fiur much curious 
and historical matter scattered through his works, particularly 
in his Sekander namehy or history of Alexander the Great, 
whidi is decidedly one of the most beautiful productions of the 
east; many of the exploits described in the poem coincide with, 
and many differ from, the received accounts of the Grecian and 
Roman Histories. The aodior has often confounded the 
romantic adventures of the ancient monarch of the east, Iska^ 
dor dki^lKareeHf or having two horns, implying his conquests 
from east to west, and who is mentioned in the Kordn, Surdt 
18, with the achievements of Iskander Errvmij or Alexander 
the Macedonian. His other works are held in high estimation, 
among which we may mention his fascinating romance of 
Khorru and Skireen, founded on the story of Khosru the son 
of Hormuz, sumamed Parviz or Victorious, who reigned in 
Persia at the time of Mohammed, and his romantic fondness for 
his beautiful mistress Shireen. Indeed, all Nizdmi's writings 
abound in fine Oriental imagery, pleasing allegories, and much 
useftil learning. Sir William Jones has translated, in prose, 
twenty tales and fables from Makhzem EsroTf or Treasure of 
Secrets, and is of opinion that an English version of all the 
works ofthis author is agreatdesideratunu Among his other 

* 6ir William Ooseley quotes tliis distich of Hafis in praise of Nizami^ 
'*The poetry of Nizami, in the whole circle of ancient writers, has no equal for 
grace and elegance of language.**— Persian Miscellanies, p. 77. See Persian 
Sxtraott-^Appendix. 



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252 IkUL NATHANIEL HOWARD 

celebrated poems are the Heft Peiqur or Seyen Forms, contain- 
ing the romance of Baharam or Burham Gimr who lost his 
life in huntmg ; ♦ the EsrarUdUAshikin or Secrets of Loyers; 
and the story of Leila and Mejnun. 

As a specimen of Nizimi's style of composition, I b^ to 
extract a few lines which precede the fine description of the 
hostile armies, and the fall of Darius, translated by Sir William 
Ouseley from the Sekander nameh. 

** Tha ifraeefhl motioii of tbe cerulean sphere, 

With Its orbits, the stars, and moon, and svn. 

Think not that they haje been made for idle sport. 

Or that this foir curtain (the canopy of heaTen) has been formed in Tidn. 

In this glorious web no thread is without its use. 

Though the end (or object) of It may be concealed from us. 

Who knows what is to happen to-morrow? 

Or that which shall yet remain in obscurity : 

Can we tell the man whose affdrs Fortune shall direct t 

Or him with whose life Destiny shall sport? 

Can we point out him who to-morrow shall be brought forth a lifUeta 

corpse from his habitation ? 
Or him on whose brow Prosperity shall place a diadem? 
Who knows, on this day which we now trample under foot. 
What blood of heroes may haTc been shed ?*' 

The MathMm or Magnaxi by Jelal«uddin, snmamed Rftmi,t 
is a work of great g^iius, and contains passages of exquisite 
beauty and pathos : but, in his ardour, the poet abandons him- 
self to the most extravagant and abrupt allusions, by which 
he frequently becomes unintelligible to his readers. Sir 
William Jones, in his Essay on the Mystical Poetry of the 
Persians and Hindus, has giren a very beautiful version, in 
couplets, of the Introduction to die Masnanii and in the 

* Hunting the Gfor, from the earliest period, was a faTorite pastime among 
the Princes of Persia. 

-V Sumamed RitmU because he settled in the lower Asia. The Orientals 
gave the name Rum to TuAey, Greece and the whole Roman Empire. 



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/ ON PERSIAN POETRY, ^=J 

tatalogtie of Oriental maouscripts^ he tlius speaks of tlio poem ; 
*• so extraordinary a bwik as the Majmavi was tiever^ perhaps, 
composed by man. It abounds in beauties and blemishes 
equ^lty great: with great obscenity^ and pure ethics; with 
exquisite strains of poetry, with flat puerilities; with wit and 
pleanantryvmixed with dull jests; with ridicule on all estab^ 
lished religions, and a vein of sublime piety: it is like a wild 
country in a fine climate of^erspread with rich flowers^ and the 
ordure of bea«t«. T know of no writer, to whom the Mania vi* 
can justly be compared, except Chaucer and Shakespeare/^ 

Jatni*8 works are said to consist of forty diderent composi* 
tions in prose and verse, in Persian and Arabic ;$ but his best 
production is undoubtedly bis fine poem of I'Woii/'o Zeleekha^ 
founded on the history of Joseph and Zeleekha bis Egyptian 
mistress, whom the Arabians also call UaiL Jam! has drawn 
his materials from the chapter of Joseph in the Kordn^ and 
extended bis poem to about four thousand couplets. The late 
Professor White of Oxford^ In an appendix to the Institutes 
of Timour^ has affixed an admirable version of the sublime 
opening of this poem. * < 

Among other authors of esteem among the Persians, we 
must not omit Hatifi, the nephew of Jami, celebrated for his 
poem on the loves of Leila and Mejnnn^ a subject on which 
^'izimi, Jamif and others have written, Abdonlah Hatifi is 
also the author of the loves of Khosnt mid Shireeu; the Heft 
Manzar containing the loves of Buhrim Gour ; and the 
Timur namekf or the hUtory of Timur^ He died in the year 

* He ii ftlso called Mauiavt Rvm, He flonrlAhed ]n tho tbfrt&enth century. 
Sir wniktD Ouseloy bronns iia that his poem coasiats of above tbifty tbensiUMl 
eaupIeU, but mannscripta vary aj to tha nuinber of verset, 

t S6€ Prafaci ta tha Jehaa Ar% 



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254 MR. NA'TOANIBL HOWARD 

1521 of the Christian era. We may also mention the spirited 
odes of Anrdri, the Kulliats of Cdtebi and Ahli; but to enii- 
merate all the poets of Irdn is to connt the stars, for every 
accomplished man cultivated the poetic art ; and the empire 
of Persia, even to this day, is the geuial land of poetry and 
eloquence. 



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APPENDIX OF ORIGINAL PASSAGES. 



No. h 






No, 2- 






No. 3- 

jl^X^U (^j>j*3ul i^^ ^^ jf^ym J :i^ Cjjl-'JJ ^>* lyli 



[A] 



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a APPENDIX OF ORIGINAL PASSAGES. 

^j^ aL^ ^C ^Li ^^ «Xftj ^ ^J^ y^ Os^S jSi\ sUm ^^. A; 

iXj <X^ Ij^l (2j^' «Xx#J' CksL^ ^ *^.J^^ ^^ Lfr*t. ClJ^"^ «^^^ 

ji.S cr^ <j^. b €^ ^ ** ^ ^1^^ ^ ^7^ *>/ b Ci3^ 

•^ ^^ 4^ 0^' CiJ^^^ ^ • • *N? /' "^^^N! ^b ^-^^' (^ 

^^ v^ jU bci^ ^ (jj^ ^/ v'j4^ ^>^ b *>^j*- 



*N*-^^jr: *^ ^- <^ /^ *-^-> '*' ^.j^ ^ ^/ ^ /^ j-i ^ji 

•^^^ CD't* J ' >^' 2t^ <5^.^ ^. y ^^*^^f*t^. *^ er'//^ >^ 

V^ *^^b^^^ (^.jf.j^ *::M*MiJ : ^j.r f^ 3«3o 3' '«>t^ ^y. 

This extract is enough to show the beautiful simplicity of the original. 
* Some MSS. read ^^j 



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APPENDIX OF ORIGINAL PASSAGES. Ul 

No. 4. 

No. 5. 

No. 6. 
cr*^ *^jl) ^ cjOJ ^^/$^ uMj^ Ci>^ ^/ *^3^ U^.J 

No. 7. 

No. 8. 
No. 9. 

No. 10. 

Lijkj 3^- -^ fJ^ h^- y^ ^/y^ >r *^^' y^ iskJyr y^ 

No. 12. No. 11. 



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IV 



APPENDIX OF ORIGINAL PASSAGES* 



No. 15. 



No. 14. 

SSJt Ox 



No. 13. 



No. 16. 



No. 17. 



No. 18. 



er^^^j^^'-^^j 



' ♦?^ A,!jJ 



cj^ c/^*^tf^^' r^j 



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VIII. 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS OF 
MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH, F. R. S. F. L. S. &c &c ^c AND 
MEMBER OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION, IN A LETTER 
TO THE PRESIDENT. 



Sir, 

Thb collection of Drawings in my possession which you 
pronounced extraordinary, and which the Society, judging 
from specimens sometimes produced in the illustration of 
lectures, has done me the honour to notice with some appro- 
bation, may, I trust, be deserving of an abstract notice in 
explanation of its contents. I am induced to consider such a 
step requisite, because many specimens of the different series 
which it embraces, have been published at home and abroad, 
and even in America, by the Antiquarian Society, by my 
learned friend Dr. S. R^ Meyrick, by Mr. Griffith, Dr. 
Leach, the late Mr. Howitt, Mr. Colnaghi, myself, and by un- 
known persons, sometimes with, and at others without, my 
name or knowledge. From the occasional appearance of such 
fragments, some have been led to suppose, an assemblage of 
ancient costumes, and others, of zoological figures, alone were 



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256 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

in contemplation ; while even those who had seen a g^eat part 
of the collection, thought it to consist, merely of sketches 
and drawings of middling execution, without necessary con« 
nection or subordination to a digested plan* It is therefore 
with some desire to rectify misconceptions, that I now address 
you, trusting the curious will judge them from the same point 
of view in which they were made, and from being acquainted in 
some measure with the history of this undertaking, the diffi« 
culties that were surmounted, the multitude of channels that 
were explored, be prepared to take them in the same light that 
guided me in their formation. 

Encouraged by your approbation, and stimulated by the 
expressed desire of many members of the society, and even by 
several individuals, both at home and abroad, remarkable for 
rank and knowledge, I enter upon the subject, requesting that 
what must unavoidably appear personal in its course, may not 
be considered as arising from a wish to obtrude private con* 
cerns upon the notice of others ; but that a statement of the 
question in all its bearings could not be made without sudi 
reference; and also that by these explanations, young men 
similarly situated, and possessing similar facilities, might be 
indnced (by this example of mere industry) to pursue some- 
thing of a like plan ; with the certainty, at a future time, of 
reaping an equal or a superior harvest. 

With reference to the intention of the collection, the spirit 
I mean which directed the acquisition of its materials, I must 
observe — that although it was by no means intended to un- 
dervalue the advantages of skill in designing, and beauty in 
the execution, of the drawings; yet the fundamental principle 
adhered to, being directed to the acquirement of knowledge, 
of all such facts and objects as could be presented to themind^ 
by a direct exhibition of pictorial forms, that object did not 
necessarily embrace a style of execution such qs I had not 
skill to produce. But taking them as types, which by meant 



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HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 257 

of lines and colours convey to the eye at one glance a more 
definite idea of a given object than language, however precise, 
can effect, I felt that with perseverance and industry, a very 
considerable mass of information might be collected in one 
focus, upon a more comprehensive plan than is to be met with 
in any collection of the kind, which has yet come to my know- 
ledge. From an adherence to this 'plan resulted the very 
extensive amount of the collection ; for^ although the whole 
without almost a single exception, is the work of one hand, 
the number of objects delineated, amounts to about ten thou- 
sand. I must however, confess, that the greater number of 
drawings are only so far advanced as to contain the requisite 
characteristic minutiee ; few are entirely finished ; and some 
still remain in pencil : let me add also my regret that several 
of the most finished have disappeared. 

Although these explanations seem to account for the num- 
ber of materials collected, and for the unfinished state which 
attaches to many, they do not point out the causes of facility 
in drawing outline with satisfactory precision, nor of applying 
a system of colours with propriety and dispatch* It is true 
that the steps taken to attain these powers in a passable degree 
were not all in consequence of a premeditated plan, but that 
mduy fortuitous incidents in life seem to have co-operated to 
constitute a kind of destiny to that effect. It may be irrelevant 
in this place to refer to private matters of detail, but I trust 
that what I am g^ing to state will escape censure, because 
there may be interest in some parts and instruction in others; 
and it will appear that no work even comparatively trifling, 
is to be executed without preparation, trouble, and persever- 
ance. 

By a kind of instinctive desire to form collections of figures, 
before I was fifteen years old I had already contrived to 
sketch, during the hours of interval between scholastic studies, 
upwards of three hundred animals, taken from the works of 



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258 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

Buffon, Pennant, Edwards, and others; but it was not till 
after thefirst years of the war, (which occurred soon after,) had 
passed over ; during a voyage down the coast of Afi'ica, and 
subsequent residence in the West Indies that a second collec- 
tion, wholly drawn from nature was made. This, however, 
being mostly destroyed by accident, discouragement ensued, 
land I resolved for a time to confine my pursuits to memoran- 
dum sketches, while a course of drawings of the human figure, 
sometimes with, but oftener without, the aid of masters, pre- 
pared the way to resume my plan with greater effect. For 
this purpose, a very extensive series of engraved statute and 
bas-nreliefs taken from the antique were copied ; at first, by 
tracing the whole figure, soon after by tracing only the chief 
points, and finally by drawing wholly by the eye. Having 
run through all that I could find of the ancients, and secured 
a competent knowledge of their style, I turned the facility 
thereby acquired to the human model, and studied assiduously 
in that climate so peculiarly favourable to display the fresh- 
ness and elegant contour of youth, and the muscular vigour 
of physical man; unfettered by the habitual restraint of close 
garments, which makes the model of Northern Europe com- 
paratively imsatisfactory, and unlike the sculptures of anti- 
quity. 

A system of shading and colouring proceeded with the 
drawings, but when I had resumed my plan, it was found 
necessary to establish a method of colouring such objects as 
from circumstances could not be tinted on the spot. The 
privations incident to a traveller who has penetrated into the 
' wilds of America, had soon induced me to put in practice a 
system of indications, which if it did not completely supersede 
the actual use of colours at the moment, at least, produced an 
approximation which would differ only in the intensity of any 
particular hue, and therefore would not be much more remote 
from the precise colours of the individual object, tha9 what 
will be found to occur between two specimens of the same 



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HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 259 

•kind, not identically the same. All artists know, that the 
. colours of nature are mostly relative, and appear positive only 
inasmuch as they stand in opposition to others — ^that is^ they 
are positive by contrast. Hence, a proper application of half 
tones, distributed according to the laws of light and shade, 
will bring a proper outline to resemble its prototype so very 
nearly, that with the addition of some slight local colours, 
the resemblance will become sufficiently exact to satisfy a 
critical eye, even when in juxta-position, with the object from 
which it is copied. This effect, in general, is produced on pa^ 
per by the use of neutral greys ; but if these greys, especially 
those intended for more delicate objects and distant shadow- 
ings, be composed from the admixture of the three elementary 
prismatic colours, the effect is not only more certain, but often 
magical. For as the three chief prismatic colours, though 
separate, will produce light, or a white tone when set in 
motion, so when they are blended with the brush, they appear 
as in a state of repose, and produce the most delicate and 
most natural effect of shade. The aerial tints resulting from 
the combination of the elementary colours of the prism, pass 
most readily into transition tones, such as form the basis of the 
most brilliant positive hues. By the simple increase of the 
quantity of any one of the three, we obtain the most trans- 
parent purple greys, blue greys, or yellow greys ; which, in 
a state of greater intensity,' laid on with blended edges, offer 
faithful imitations of metallic reflected colours, such as occur 
in polished steel, or cupreous transitions ; and when applied 
in a weaker state, readily admit any local colour that may be 
wanted to produce the positive tone required. 

Being familiarised, by dint of practice, with the [relative 
proportion of each colour required in a mixture to produce a 
given tone, it was no difficult matter to reduce it to a system 
which might represent their various combinations, with so 
much certainty, as to admit only a minimum of difference. — 
Any person intending to effect such a purpose, would readily 

li 9 



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2e0 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

find an equal or a superior metbod — that which first presented 
itself, was^ in some measure^ analogous to an Algebraical for- 
mula. Thus, in all cases of plain colouring where the Heraldic 
mode of indication by means of the particular direction of lines, 
was applicable, that was adopted, with or without the corn- 
bining + (plus) indicating also a decreasing ratio of the added 
colours, in the gradation of their order. In this manner, for 
example, — + HI + * would represent two parts indigo, 
one lake, with the additionof some gamboge, being the ele- 
ments of one of the aerial greys. If the tones required, were 
not amenable to this simple formula, others were adopted — as 
for instance: Ind. Yen. red 1. or indigo, Venetian red. No. 1. 
that is the two colours where blue predominates: with the 
fig. 2, the red would increase in strength, with 3 it would be 
still stronger, and with the figure 4 become almost pure. 
These mixtures of two colours, as also lamp black and Indian 
red, blue and burnt terra di sienna, are all vehicles, which 
combine with or suffer the super-imposition of a local colour, 
and can be regulated with absolute certainty to the tint requi- 
red. In this manner, practice rendered the method of noting 
easy and sufficiently certain when applied, to make the tone 
differ from its type only by a trivial shade. This method was 
also used to colour by candle light, and it seldom occurred 
that a sketch put in colour by the above process, was after- 
wards found to vary from the original more than above stated, 
although both were placed together for comparison. 

But, although by perseverance and labour, a competent 
knowledge of drawing in all its branches had been attained, 
and memorandum sketches t)ccasionally added together, were 
at length bound up in five folio volumes; nevertheless, pro- 
fessional studies ; duties on the Staff* and in the Engineer 

* I am aware this formula might haje been expressed with more aeewaey, 
but it WAS for my own iise> and right or wrong it stood for t>etter. Here it shews 
that s the Heraldic designation of blue, standing first in the order of arrange- 
ment, is also the predominant colour by one half; the next ||| red, less ; and 
0. gamboge or yellow, least. 



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HIS collbcti6n of drawings. 2Sl 

department; repeated voyages across the Atlantic; tray els in 
both Americas, and several campaigns, absorbed so much time 
and diverted so much my attention^ that it was not until a short 
period before I was called to an official situation at the Horse 
Guards, (about 1810) that my purpose, which until then had 
been vag^e, began to assume that consistent form which ad- 
mitted of insertmg in the different series of drawings already 
begun, every successive addition without deranging the plan. 
Matured by reflection, and in possession of much unarranged 
matter to act upon, the system adopted comprehended chiefly 
the following points: First, to make typical designs in the 
^irit before alluded to, from all authentic materials that cir- 
cumstances would allow me to collect, in zoology, antiquities, 
costume, paleography, heraldry, and topography, upon pa- 
per of uniform size, (4to. aths,) classing them in a system- 
atic manner; to attend in particular to the colour of objects 
according to nature, the original document, or history ; and to 
furnish each subject with an explanatory notice, containing 
the authority, together with historical, biographical, or scien-. 
tific remarks. 

For this last purpose,, a kind of common place book, or 
rather a number of books, alphabetically marked, were appro- 
priated to the accumulation of notes, headed by some leading^ 
word, and containing chiefly discussions relative to the filiation 
of nations, paleography, philology, and antiquities, collected 
from a multitude of sources, and forming essays, summary 
abstracts^ or simple definitions. Although these amount at 
present to above one thousand, I must own scanty use has as 
yet been made of th^n in illustration of the drawings; and,, 
excepting in the lectures read before the Society, where some 
extracts have been occasionally introduced, I fear, that for 
want of assistance I shall not be able to complete this part ot 
my original intention, or communicate in another way several 
facts and observations, litde known or altogether new to the 
British publick. 



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262 MAJOa HAMILTON SMITH ON 

Before I proceed to a more detailed notice of each series, t 
must beg leave to dwell a moment longer on some general 
considerations, applicable to the mode of adopting the materiakr 
to the system I had in view. It is unnecessary to enter into 
a discussion concerning the dependence of language upon 
images to convey just ideas. The relations between them 
have been shewn ; but I am not aware that it has been 
pursued with equal attention in the more confined sphere of 
the fine arts — to the association between pictorial figures and 
our imagination. Such, for example, as occur upon reading 
poetry, romance, history, voyages, travels, or such other sub* 
. jects, as relate to persons and physical objects; when, if we 
pay the least attention to the text, we immediately find our 
mental perception engaged in forming it into moving pictures, 
where men and thingps are clothed in the colours of nature^ and 
pass before us like a scenic exhibition. Upon further examina* 
tion we discover that this perception is vivid, and pleasing in 
proportion as sensible objects of a kindred class, (and therefore 
adapted to individualise our imaginary picture,) have been 
previously impressed on the memory : that, on the contrary, if 
we are destitute of these elements to clothe the fancy, or if we 
possess such as are improperly applied, the imagination cools, 
we become indifferent, or feel a painful want ; an indication' 
that we do not rightly comprehend the sutgect. Although, 
the eye reading alternately books and pictures, may become in 
a degree accustomed to erroneous types, constantly afforded 
by the arts, particularly about the sera of their renewal, when 
Jason might appear in Gothic armour, and St. Paul be converted 
in the middle of Turkish cavalry with pistols in their holsters; 
still where criticism is sufficiently advanced, we feel consider* 
able abatement of the admiration which the skill of the artist 
so often calls forth in every other department of his production^ 
Other thingps may be so fast established, by use, as to escape 
censure; such as evangelists with modern folios before them, 
or doctors in the Temple with spectacles on their noses; but 
with regard to the national histories of modem Europe, where 



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ON HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 263 






\ 



we are, or at least where we ouj;rht to be^ more critically correct, 
artists^ have not inquired into the projtrieties of costume with 
half the judgment evinced by the ancients on the bas-rcliefiiof 
the Trajan and Aotonine coIuqibs. It in scarcely half a cen* 
twry since B^man armour has been introduced with the least 
correctness, and only a quarter of a century that a Greek can 
be dii^tjuguisbed from a Roman; but in the costume and ar- 
mour of our own nations^ Mr. West could still represent the . 
Conqueror and Edward III, habited like Charles L— and on • 
the stage, Richard HI. even now flourishes his sword, with a 
hat and mantle, which, if ever they belonged to any period 
of costume, must be referred to the time of James I. On the 
Continent, the matter is worse ; the Germans sheathe in plated 
steel, paladins of Charlemagne's court; and in France, the 
antiquaries themselves confound the armour of five difterent 
centuries,* It must therefore be a service to endeavour to 
spread a more correct acquaintance with the subject, nor lA 
Ihe idea of its desirableness confined to myself. 

**It is not," said Mn West, on looking over my earliest col- 
lections of costume ; *' It is not that artists do not feel the 
<* impropriety of many things they introduce in their composi- 
** iiom, but that they must trust to what they can find as models 
*' banded down by their predecessors ; because it would require g 

"a different education^ and a whole life of research to collect " 

« their materials, whereas they live scarcely long enough to be || 

*< thoroughly instructed in all the other branches of their pro- 
**fession. It is therefore much to be wished that some one i 

•^ would furnish the art with an ample store of such docmnentsi I 

• See Recherchos sur lei Costumaa, &c, pur MaUioit and MnrUn, ¥oI, UU 
fin du lUsieclc* Reoaud tie St, Gillea and olhers anned, &c, as if in 1480, 
Tliiyse are from a series of EhHs of Toulouse, in a MS. oflhfjfift&e nth century, 
al the i^arliest. I tiava copied the ^hole, but iiol as jfeniiine. See kIso the 
stelnes of the church of Su Sertiln a^ Touloit^e, said in he of bcBefactoTB aod 
extemporary with Earl William and Copnteia ; Ibcy are of ihe sixteenth cerifury^ 
Thh ifl really wanting crltldsai. _ 



1 



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364 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

^^as the historical painter in particular is constantly wanting; 
<^for althou^ the French have done much to improve Mr. ^ 
<< Gavin Hamilton's plan, regarding the Roman costume, and 
^*we beg^n to have a critical knowledge of what ought to be 
** considered as exclusively Greek, from the work cf'Mr. Hope ; 
*< still every thing is to be done for our national history, and 
'^therefore I rejoice to see a b^inning made in this collection, 
^< where I approve of your view of restoring monumental effi- 
^gies to the attitudes and colours of life; because while they 
'< remain as given in the works of antiquaries, mutilated, 
<' colourless and generalized, they are useless to us ; it is right 
^^also to improve the drawing of subjects taken fromAnglo- 
*^ Saxon or other ancient illuminations, because young artists 
^< will never willingly consult ill-drawn figures, which, because 
^ they offend the eye, they are apt to consider as of no value 
" to the science of painting." 

These remarks' of the late venerable president of the Royal 
Academy, which are given, as nearly as possible, in his own 
words, are of themselves sufficient authority for the view 
then already taken of the question ; and there remains only one 
more objection to be answered, in order to remove the last ar- 
gument which has sometimes been used against the application 
of a correct costume ; it is averred that the proposed costume 
may not be picturesque, that it may be altogether ridiculous, 
and therefore apt to take away the intended effect of a serious 
composition. To this objection, therefore, it may be answered 
that a thorough knowledge of the art and of the materials with 
which to clothe a cdtnposition does not imply, that judgment 
and taste are to be laid aside ; but that both should be used 
so as to modify, conceal, or actually omit what would off^d a 
sound critical judgment. Finally, where the true costume of 
a given sera is introduced with taste and judgment, it will un- 
questionably lend an air of reality and vigour to the composition, 
which no fency dresses or misdated materials can ever bestow. 



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'> -r- - ■ ■♦»■ * * m **m 



HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWING. 285 

As I have beep led to make a more particular alliisioii to 
\M)6tume» it may be proper to begin witb the different sets of 
tbe series connected with this queetion, commencing with those 
of the most ancient nations of which piotorial documents re- 
main. These are the more cinrionsy because die conjectural 
hints of De Sacy and Ackerbladt, led the late Dr. Young 
to a discovery whidi Monsieur Champoleon has extended to 
satisfactory readings of the long unintelligible hieroglyphical 
inscriptions of Egyptian antiquity-*-what therefore was until 
lately vague conjecture, is now daily bec<Hning historical; 
and the Egyptian collection of costume, now under considera* 
tion» will shortly be as completely within the reach of explana- 
tion as any other document, where the figures are accompanied^ 
by inscriptions; at present, with some exceptions, they depend 
upon conjecture, All the materials of the set are taken from 
the insculptured monuments of Egypt ; and many of these are 
still on the walls and ceilings of temples and catacombs, in the 
foil splendour of their original colouring. The set consists at 
present of fifty drawings, containing above one hundred and 
fifty figtires of gods, kings, heroes, priests, warriors, wranen, 
artisans, musicians ; of foreigners, such as Syrians, Greeks, 
Arabs, Jews, JiegroeB; chariots, boats, temples, porticoes, 
fonerals, processions, &c. They were obtained chiefly firom 
the original sketches of one of the artists employed by the 
institute of Cairo ; others are from the monument and work 
of the late Belzoni ; from the paintmgs within the coffins of 
mummies, and firom the Papyri found upon them ; firom the 
g^reat work of the institute published at Paris; firom Draim 
aad other sources. 

From this set we learn that the bull Apis or Mnevis had 
not invariably the same colours and markings; that the priests 
on ceremonial occasiotis wore masks, representing the heads of. 
their many typical divinities. We see all their idols carried 
in arks, with veils often covering the Theba; we find tbe 



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266 If AMR HAMILTON 8MITH ON 

brazen chariots, such as Herodotus relates to haye issued fr6in 
the hundred gates of Memphis. Here artists jrUl see that 
Osymandiasy Memnon, Sesostris and the Pharaoh% appeared 
in a very different costume from the Romanised Greek dress, 
in which they are usually figured. We can distinguish the 
blue-eyed Phoenician, the charetim or bowmra, the prisoners 
and the women ; we observe, that the complexion of the men 
varied from reddish to dark brown, between the Delta and 
the cataracte, but that the women were uniformly of a pale 
colour; here are sowers and reapers, hunters, dancers; punish- 
ments, wrestlings, rejoicings, &c. Among the most curious, 
is an attack upon a fortress, unquestionably the most ancient 
battle-picture in ^cistence ;— the Egyptians are storming the 
walls by means of a testudo, unnoticed by the ancients; it 
seems to be of rhinoceros or camel's hide, supported by men, 
upon which the assailants are mounted, while others are scaling 
the walls upon ladders. There is also a naval battle between 
Egypt and the Syro-Phoenicians, of which however I have 
copied only the most prominent ships. A prince of the Mmqp^ 
phian dynasty, receiving homage, with his enemies painted 
bound upon his footstool, and lying on the ground, as noticed 
in the Psalms of David. To these, I have still to add Egyptian 
horse races from Herculaneum, and domestic scenes from the 
Proenestine Mosaics. 

In the second set are assembled the costumes of nations not 
less ancient than the Egyptian — ^those of Persia, or Iran, to^ 
gether with some specim^is of Babylon and Ancient India* 
Of the latter only two are from bas-reliefi, taken out of the 
ruins of the desolate City — they diow fig^es drawn with a 
feeling almost Greek, and dresses composed of cloths made by 
the union of many plaits, which no doubt were of various 
colours,^ and had the effect of stripes. As this mode of 

. * The gament of nuuiy coloort is noticedy when Joseph was sold by hU 
brethren. The Arabian figures among the Egyptian paintings wear clothes of 
many stripes. 



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H10 COLLBCTION OP DRA|¥ING8. 267 

making cloths remained in practice to a late period among tbe 
Celtic nations, it may well have existed in Babylon before the 
mechanism of weaving was understood. At least, such appears 
to be the character of the draperies as expressed by the artists, 
whose style of drawing proves there was more skill than in 
Botne of the posterior bas-reliefs on the surface of rocks in 
Persia, where, however, the draperies have no such characters. 

Of Indian specimens there are likewise but few; they were 
mosdy copied by the late Mr. Devis, from the alto relievo colos- 
sal idols of Salsette, Elephantina, Elora, and Pohogulpoor. It 
may, be worth observing that, with due allowance for carica- 
ture, the costumes of idols almost invariably represent the 
^cient dresses of the nations to whom they belong, particularly' 
when they have a form determined by usage: thus the most ' 
ancient Hindoo divinities exhibit the national costume, perhaps 
anterior to the era of the Gymnosophists, noticed in the expedi- 
tion of Alexander the great. The colossal Budho in particular 
wears the g^b of his priesthood, and his being always painted 
with a red skin, it proves that he was a Northern Caucasian, 
and not a Mongole. This also occurs in China, where the same 
sect represent him and his subordinate personifications not only 
as a white man, but one with a red beard : the dresses of these 
gods are of Chinese, and not of Mantchoo fashion. 

The costumes of ancient Persia are taken from the bas-^relieis 
of Persepolis or Chihel Minar, from Taki Boustan, from the 
cavern of Shahpoor, &c. according to the copies of them, fur- 
nished by a multitude of travellers, and in particular hy 
Morier and Ker Porter ; add from casts now in the British and* 
other museums. I have also obtained some sketches of the 
Achoemenian princes, at Nakshi Rustam, and of the Sassanian 
and Arsa^cidian dynasties, from the same place, and frcnn 
Nakshi Rajab. These last, although they are overlooked by 
Firdausi, were the chiefs of the mighty Parthian's confederate • 
empire, the Malek el Tuaif^ kings of tribes ; history proclaims 



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268 MAJOE HAMILTON SMITH ON 

their triumphs — and their numerous monuments evince the 
advanced state of the fine arts in Persia at that time. 

Of the Achcemenian dynasty, we see a king, perhaps Dariu» 
Codomannus, but more probably HyBtaspes,(Kyshtasp) buried 
in an immense wig* and beard, asserted to have been of borrow- 
ed hair: we see this prince on his throne surrounded by his 
household, before him the golden horns charged with jewels,, 
which when reached, gave the rig^t of sanctuary ; beneath his 
feet the stool which was too low for Alexander ; abmne him the 
Solar eagle, and the canopy adorned with a row of hones,. 
(Phul) one of the types of the sun. In the drawing I have 
grouped the figures, and given the whole a perspective en* 
sembk; which in the original is partly plan, partly elevation,, 
disposed in rows, as is always the case in pictures designed 
during the infancy of art: belonging to this dynasty also, 
are the procession of the Satrapies, personified by ^^ures 
bearing the tribute in kind, for which each was particidarly 
distinguished.* Each group is attended by a herald or guard, 
some of which appear in the simple garb of Persians, while 
<^hers are magnificently dressed, and may be Medes: others, 
still more splendidly accoutred, with quivers and bows on the 
shoulders, and artificially curled beards and hair, may repre* 
sent the immortals. There are also Eunuchs, known by their 
muffled mouth, and menials distinguished by the same attri-^ 
butes of office which mark their present representatives in 
lndia« Smerdis Magus, or Lohraspf occurs also, but less 
positively ; and Khosru Parvb in a magnificent costume frmu 
the original bas-relief at Taki Boustan, so carefully detailed 
as to give the minutisB of embroidery. The colossal idol of 
Ormusd f (who as well as the original Rustum, was a per* 
sonification of the sun,) from Shabpoor, shows the costume of 
the heroic ag^ of Persia ; and his shaggy tunic may represent 
the impenetrable Burburcan of the Iranian Hercules. A figure 
on horsebadL of Rustum, or of Khosroe Parvis, is also seen at 
Taki Boustan — the face and body are covered with ring mail ; 

* Tho S7Ui of EitUel may l>e oonsvUad for the ezplaosUon of thif moniimeiit. 



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HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 209 

the hone's head, neck, and breast, with small plates of metal, 
adorned with tassels; on the near side of the saddle, hangs 
the Camaund or ancient Lazzo ; and on the off side, the Yak 
tail to drive off insects — this is altogether a most complete 
specimen of the cataphracted horse of Persia. It was from 
these kind of armed warriors that the posterior crusaders 
derived their word of Saracen (Serro^d^gin) a mailed rider.* 
Beside these, there are monumental obelisks, with Pelhevi 
inscriptions, tombs, ensigns, &C Of later periods^, there are 
costumes from the illuminated Shah Nameh of Gottingen, 
Saracens and others, which may belong to the eras of Alpar« 
slan or Chenghiz, when the institutions of the KhalifiUe had 
totally changed the ancient manners and habits of the country. 

With regard to authorities for colouring the subjects of 
Indian and Persian costume, unlike the Egyptian, which are, 
or were invariably painted, there is more difficulty ; but in 
order to save artists the trouble of searching, attention has 
been bestowed upon the scattered notices in the ancient classics, 
relating to Ais question. Several of the originals, and proba- 
bly all, were painted ; some still retain traces of their pristine 
colours; from these, with the help of the immutable usages of 
the East, retraced in their illuminated books, and even in the 
painted toys of Benarez, (which still deserve some notice,) an 
attempt has been made to complete that object. 

After the Persian may be ranked a small series of Greek 
figures, chiefly of those anterior to die era of Pericles; they 
consist of that curious discovery at Egina, groups of statues, 
once painted in encaustic, and representing the heroes of the 
myrmidons, the ^acidee and Trojan warriors in conflict over 
the fallen^Patroclus. Several also from fictile vases, represent 
warriors and virgins: but it is my intention to extend Ais series 
to the Greek types of the fabulous beings which they painted 

• Others wlU derive it from the Arabic wrw, a desert. 



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270 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

or produced upon the stage— 4he furies, menades/ gorgons^ 
satyrs, fauns, centaurs, amazons, arimaspians, genii, &c« from 
the fictile vases, which occasionally represent scenes of drama-' 
tic pieces, of which no other notice can now be found in the 
ancients ; there are also from similar sources, mostly brought 
from Bengazi, by Mr. Le Marre, sundry costumes and figures 
which illustrate Greek Cyrenaica and Roman Cardiage. They 
may be compared with those lately published by Capt. Beechy, 
and it may also be worth observing that artists, if their com- 
position will improve by the practice, may embellish Greek 
and Roman architectural decorations with colours, for it is 
not in Africa alone, but also in Greece, Ionia, and Italy, that 
the practice is proved to have existed, wherever time and cH- 
mate have not obliterated the evidence. 

To the Greek may be added a few Etruscan and Volscian 
costumes of soldiers, shepherds, horse races, &c. taken from 
bronzes, painted tiles, and bas-reliefs. 

In the fourth set are collected Roman and Byzantine cos- 
tumes, in 89 drawings, making 158 figures. I am indebted 
to my friend S. R* Meyrick, LL. D. for his manuscript and 
collection on this head, which supplied me with the first part, 
to which are since added many interesting specimens ; among 
which, a figure of an officer of the Ala Noricorum Claudiana, 
on horseback, and a sigmfer of the 14th Gremina Martia V ictrix, 
the celebrated Western legion of that number; both from 
monumental bas-reliefs at Bonn. A Roman lady putting on 
the strophium, from the Portici bronze ; with this figure are 
placed Egyptian bathing women, and the scene is in a bath, 
with all the furniture, taken from difierent antiques. Next is 
a curious exhibition of equestrian and tumbling performers, 
taken from an ivory diptic, which shews that a Roman booth 
was not unlike those of the same nature at an English fair. 
There are also horsemen, legionaries, slingers, and other bar- 



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His COLIt'BCTION OF DRAWINGS. 271 

barian soldiers of the lower empire ; probably some are Goths 
of the time of Ricimer, Stilicho or JStius — they are taken from 
the reliquiary of Sens, and from Christiaa sarcophagi at Tou- 
louse, &c. But the most curious perhaps of all is the fine 
costume of a Varang^os^ or one of that guard of Scandinavians 
and Saxons which were so conspicuous at Constantinople. 
The figure is from the paintings in the cathedral of Ravenna, 
and is of the time of Justinian ; his armour is the same as that 
remarked on Northmen of a posterior date; — a hialm, or. scull 
cap, halsberg, baldur, or ring kragh, covered with golden 
studs or bezants, and a Saxon tunic, sufficiently distinguish 
this body from other Byzantine warriors. On his shield he 
bears the sacred ^ which distinguished the prcetorian bands 
from the leg^naries, from the time of Constantine. 

It is curious that the Scottish author of the romance of 
Alisaunder, should make his hero wander through a terra 
incogniia in Asia; where, among other monsters, he meeb 
with the Varangi — 

** A folk woneth biside thoos, 

** That beeth y-depid Farangos, 

** That haonteth wildernesse and forestes, 

** And nymeth thereinne wilde bestes, 

** And fleshe hy eten raw and boot, 

^ Wlthonten Kycchen, god it woot.** 

•Little suspecting that among these savages the name of Drum- 
mond was not unknown, as appears by the Icelandic Viga 
Styrs; — sub anno lOIl. In the same drawing, behind the 
figure, is a signjferf with the Labarum ; such as was preserved 
at Brescia till the late revolution. 

The fifth and sixth sets form a very long series, relating 
chiefly to Britain. In the first are collected a great number 
of Celtic monuments, and antiquities, found scattered over a 
considerable portion of the old continent, firom the coast of 
Malabar, and th<3 province of Coimbatoor to Scandinavia, and 



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372 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH OK 

Iceland. Cromldb% crom-craachs, kistyaens, peillvaiui in 
Asia Minor, on the coast of Africa, in the islands of the MedU 
terranean ; in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, 
Germany, Denmark, Great Britain and Ireland. Costumes 
from Celto Roman bas-reliefs; representations of tribal and 
family penates ; pillar house gods ; ondvegis sular and $eU 
nokkar; next, all the audientic figures relating to the Godii$, 
(chiefly the western) race that I have met with on the conti- 
nent: and the costumes &c. of the Anglo-Saxons to Edward 
the Confessor, with whom the histoi'y of the Gothic race, and 
the Saxons as a people, ended. This s^ies, consisting of about 
170 drawings, containing an immense variety of objects, was 
brought together in aid of written documents, that have been 
accumulating for several years, with a view to the illustratioE 
of the origin of the nations of Western Europe, and the primi- 
tive filiation of the Caucasian tribes. Fragments of these 
researches have appeared in several lectures read before die 
Society. 

It was also in connection with these enquiries that a s^ies 
of paleographic alphabets and inscriptions was collected ; to 
facilitate the investigations of the ramifications and descent of 
the dialects of Europe, and compare the affinity of the Semitic 
with Sanskrit, and the Hindu and Hindu-Mongolic tongues. 

In the Celtic series, there are a considerable number of ob- 
jects never before published, and not a few drawn upon the 
spot, either in this country, when in the company of members 
of this Society, or discovered during personal researches 
abroad. Some of these have been published already by the 
Antiquarian Society, and also at New York ; and others may 
be expected shortly to appear in illustration of the antiquities 
of Dartmoor, in the ^Transactions' of this Society, by one of . 
the members. With respect to the Anglo-Saxon costume, it 
is copied in general from illuminated manuscripts in (he British 
Museum. The sketches consist of princes, nobles, ladies. 



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H» COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 273 

. soldiers, archers, shipping and buildings. MosI of the Codices 
are versions of the scriptures ; and it is a singular illustration 
of the affinity between sensible objects and our minds, to find 
that all the figures of Israelites, patriarchs, princes, and war- 
riors, are designed with the most scrupulous fidelity to the 
Saxon costukne. Abraham contends against the five kings 
clad in a ringed Saxon tunican. The departure of Israel out 
of Egypt shews a Gothic town, with a row of bare-headed 
horsemen holding lances, with banners of different colours, 
like Polish hulans. Judah gives Tamar his staff* and armlet, 
(not a ring) &c. In making this collection, I hftd ample oppor- 
tunity of verifying the fidelity, industry, and judgment of the 
late Mr. Strutt; whose works would have been my sole guide 
for tracing out the original documents, had I not received 
yoliintary assistance and advice, from my learned friend, Mr. 
Petrie, keeper of the records. 

For the Scandinavian costume, and Anglo-Danish figures, 
I am indebted to friends at Copenhagen, and to the British 
museum. In this also, scriptural subjects are depicted with 
Northmen forms. The massacre of the Innocents is perpetrated 
by warriors in the rustred tunics, and hose, and nasal helmets, 
used by the Danes: there are, in this sub-division, some inter- 
esting delineations ; such as Kuut and Aelfgiva, from that king's 
own prayer-book. Of Pagan Northmen — there are heroes, with 
the sun and star upon their shields : their helmets adorned with 
eagle plumes, as noticed in the Temora of Ossian; sword 
dancers and horsemen from the golden horns, formerly of the 
Copenhagen museum, but now destroyed. In the collection 
are figures of both transmitted from that city. 

It was from the Celtic and Scandinavian sets, as they stood 
at that time, that Dr« Meyrick and myself, published the cos- 
tumes of the Aboriginal inhabitants of the British islands ; but 
many and important additions have been since made. Of that 
publication, in justice to my learned friend, it must be said, 

R K 



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274 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

that the materials concerning the Britons, are ahnost entirely 
from his own stores. 

And now I come to the sixth series, according to the ar- 
rangement, but the earliest in point of date. Here are collected 
by far the greater part of the sovereign, nobles, knights, and 
ladies, of Great Britain, whose effigies still remain sufficiently 
perfect to serve for types, whether it be in the shape of re- 
cumbent monumental figures, brasses, bas-reliefe, stained 
glass, or illuminated miniatures: — ^to them are added prelate^, 
monks, artisans, hunters, cross«bowmen, archers, bill-men, 
shipping, architectural parts, furniture ; — in short, all the 
appurtenances of the feudal ages, disposed in chronological 
arrangement. This, the oldest collection, was begun about 
the year 1809, while on the recruiting service at Coventry, 
and carried forward by the advice of Messrs. Hewlett, Nixon, 
and in particular of that zealous antiquary T. Sharp, esq.— 
From excerpta of the first materials, Mr. Colnaghi, undertook 
to publish sixty plates of the ancient costume of England ; a 
work which was terminated in November, 1813. Upon the 
appearance of the first numbers, the late president of the 
Royal Academy, Mr. West, expressed his pleasure and appro- 
bation ; the late Mr. Devis then painting his celebrated picture 
of the Barons; and the late Mr. John Kemble, immediately 
joined in its support. Their opinion no doubt had considerable 
influence ; for it is from that period that artists and dramatists 
began to distinguish the differences, to be marked in the suc- 
cessive ages of the feudal era. 

In this collection, as it now stands, exclusive of materials in 
hand, there are above three hundred knights* in armour, taken 
from their monumental effigies, and restored in those parts 
that might have been wanting, from comparisons with a muU 

* It is remarkable that of Bntisb military moBomental figures, abote a 
third are cross-legged, though several of known cmsaders are not so. 



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HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 275 

titude of similar and eou temporary objects* Chiefly from 
this part of the collectioOf and from the notes belonging to it, 
Dn Meyrick drew the iliustralioas^ and part of the descriptions 
of his superb work on ancient armour ; and I ha^e understood 
that white iu hm possession, Sir Walter Scott did not disdain 
to take some memoranda from the figures, 

Ajs the Anglo-Saxon series terminates with the Confessor, 
and the battle of Hastings, the feudal set opens with the Con- 
querorj and extends at least partially to Charles II ; with the 
exception of the kings, whose effigies are carried down to 
George the Third, These drawings amount at present to 694 
specimens, English, Scots and Irish, Some families whose 
monuments haFe been best preserved, appear in succeeding 
generations — the Beauchamps, the Veres, StaflTurds, de Clares, 
Nevilles, Berkeleys, &c. Many also whose names are unknown 
but whose era may be fixed with considerable certainty, from 
the costume alone, are here produced : for it may be observed, 
that the criterion offered solely in the form of the armour would 
be decisive, if it w^ere not that the civil contests so frequent in 
the history of England, impoverished and often attainted indi- 
viduals and families, from which their monuments are sometimes 
of a date several generations posterior to their deatb^» Others 
having ordered their own effigies to be sculptured, have sur- 
vived the completion of the work for such a length of years, 
as to appear in the costume of their ancestor : — finally, that 
confusion exists in almost all the churches where early monu- 
ments now occur, caused by the loss of epitaphs, the occasional 
removal of some, the transfer of others, from religious estab- 
lishments, secularised at the reformation, and from the want of 
eritical knowledge to judge of the age of the objects, in the 
resident clergy, and the authors who have written upon 
ecclesiastical antiquities, and topographical lustories** 

• 1 have no dotjbt th*t several knlglitiy elSgiea in Exetor cilbedriil aro 
*acrlb€il 10 ih© wrong persoci. 



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276 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

There are many figures of general interest, and others which 
would strike but partially. Richard the First, Berengaria, Sir 
Stephen le Fleming, a crusader ; Edward the Third, Queen 
Philippa, the Black Prince, the Maid of Kent, John of Gaunt, 
Sir John Chandos, Sir Walter de Mauny, Sir Thomas Erping- 
ham, &c. Some have been copied from their monuments in 
France, others from stained glass in the Netherlands; and 
there are not a few from the original designs, said to be by 
Hollar, which were in the collection of Abbe Mann, in the last 
mentioned country. 

Such as were copied from glass, or illuminations, required 
no investigation to colour them; but although many if not 
most, sepulchral effigies, were painted, and upon diligent in- 
vestigation, still show traces of the colours ; many, and in 
particular, those from brasses, required the exercise of dis« 
cretion : fortunately, armours^ with few exceptions, consisted 
of steel without gilding; and the surcoats of arms invariably 
heraldic, were readily ascertained; so that no serious mistakes 
could well occur in what remained, if reference were made 
to contemporary illuminations. 

To the ancient or feudal costume of the British Islands, 
belongs a collection of notes, historical, biographical, and critic 
cal, with a view to illustrate this part of the collections more 
fully and minutely than others, but in transcription and 
arrangement, no great progress is yet made. 

After the British follows the Continental series of the Chival- 
rous ages ; the German, which may be numbered the seventh, 
though not as yet abundant in specimens, is not without some 
of considerable interest, because they throw a light upon the 
British periods: and the monumental effigies are more numerous 
in the tenth and eleventh centuries, when scarcely any can be 
noticed in these kingdoms. Moreover as they are very com- 
monly placed upright against the walls of churches, they 



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HIS COLLECTIOK Ot DRAWlNGfif. 277 

are moreperfect, and very often Fetain all their original colour- 
ing. Among the most curious are Charlemagne from the 
mosaic of St. John Lateran at Rome; the figures of Roland 
and Oliver, from the very ancient statues in the portal of the 
cathedra] at Verona; Conrad I. Emperor of Germany, fVom 
his monument in the fine Byzantine church of Limburgh on 
the^Lahn which he built in 912, and where he was buried in 
919 or 920; Ceroid I. Marquis of Lusacia, taken from Gros- 
ser's mejjc w ur diff keiten ; he died in 956, Then follow some 
nnl^nown great vassals of the empire, from their cast silver 
and enamelled statues on the shrine of Charlemagne at Aix la' 
/ Chapelle, and the founders of the cathedral of Nauemburgh, 
from their statues of the same time, which appear to have 
been early in the eleventh century. Walter de Glizberg of 
1036, from Effurth, (the first with regular heraldic bearings.) 
An earl and countess of Amim, the last pagan and pirate 
family in Western Germany, who were forced to take sanctuary- 
in Minden cathedral in 1157: Otto count Bodenlauben, and 
countess, 1831, at Frauenrode: a series of landgraves of Thu- 
ringia and Hesse, from Bfarburgh : the emperor Louis IV. of 
Bavaria, and the electors living 1310 — 1319, among whom is 
the remarkable John, the valiant duke of Luxemburg, and 
king of Bohemia, then a young man, but the same who fell' 
half a century after at Crecy. True to the spirit of the times, 
the three ecclesiastical electors are in full armour, only to be 
distinguished from the others by their blazon, and the mitres 
which constitute the crests of their helmets. This set is taken 
from the originals of stone in alto relievo, now in the museum - 
of Mayence, and till lately adorning the commercial hall of the 
city, built in 1319. But the materials for augmenting this 
particular series are so abundant, that want of time alone has 
prevented its being much more extended than about 70 draw- 
ings. I cannot however forbear to mention the Knight of the 
Valley of Death, by Albert Durer, introduced here on account 
of the costume, and because it is believed to be the portrait of 
the celebrated Franz von Sickingen, the last chivalrous cha- 



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278 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

racter of that class in Germany, and the first who drew the 
sword in favour of the Reformation. He sacrificed his life in 
that cause; and when the event was reported to Luther, he 
exclaimed that ^< the Lord would Hot have the sword to defend 
his cause."* 

In the eighth series are those of France and the Netherlands, 
together with a few Spanish, Italian, and Morisco subjects. 
Thejr amount to about 120 figures, several of which are con- 
nected with English history. A copy of the homagfe of Uie 
duke of Bourbon to king Charles V. of France, exhibits the 
grandees clad in mantles of their blazon. The constable Du 
Guesclin bears the white wand. Charles VII. and the Maid 
of Orleans, from a drawing of the bronze figures, twice de» 
stroyed, but originally placed on the bridge at Orleans. 
Francis L and Henry III. both on horseback, llrom beautiful 
illuminations on vellum; said to beby Frimatiche. 

Among the Belgians is a knight of the ninth century, in 
tegulated armour, representing St. Gerion, from a bas-relief 
at Xanthen; several dukes of Brabant and Cleves, earls of 
Flanders and Holland ; a curious brevet d^amour^ where the 
knight^s war horse is caparisoned in blue, charged with a roun-> 
delay, and the musical notes formed of golden fleur de lys ; this 
was in the archives of the cathedral of Toumay. Sir Francis 
van Halen, knight of the garter, formerly in the church of St. 
Rumbalt at Mechlin. Among the Spanish are the Christian 
and Moorish knights, and Moorish chiefs and ladies, from the 
paintings in the Alhambra of Grenada. In this series no use 
has yet been made of << Montfaucdn's Antiquit^s Francaises,'' 
nor of ** Millin's Continuation," because the materials in my 
possession, which escaped the notice of both, and survived the 
iconoclasm of revolutionary fanaticism, are not exhausted. 

* Some anecdotes of bian, preserred by ftofessor Josti in dU vorMcU, iliew 
that he was a real military reformer. 



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HIS COU.BCTION OF DRAWINGS. 879 

Although tfiis is not the place to disease the history of 
armour, before I conclude the notices of the costumes of feudal 
1^^ it may not be irrelevant to observe that from a comparison 
of nearly one thousand figures of knights and warriors, no 
instance of a well authenticated contemporary effigy occurs, 
where 'plate armour is pourtrayed before the second quarter 
of the fourteenth century, with the exception of greaves, or 
shin plates, which are found as early as 1260. Plate armour 
followed the introduction of roundels and aillettes, (small 
plates) fixed on the elbows and shoulders, and genouilleres 
or knee-pieces, which replaced the round padded cushions 
of mail of Edward the First, that is about 1307. Before the 
year 1325, half brassards, and half pauldrons occur ; they 
were semi-cylindrical steel plates buckled on the arms; and 
also, cuisses on the outer thighs. The stained glass figures 
of benefactors in Tewkesbury Abbey; Sir Robert de Buers, 
at Wesley Waterless : and so late as 1347, Sir Hugh Hastings, 
and the surrounding knights, on the brass at Elsing, C. Nor- 
folk, are examples of this ; but the last already displays the 
arm-plates complete and hinged, similar to the armour of the 
monumental effigy of Charles duke of Alenqon, who was killed 
at Crecy, in the preceding year (1346) ; and which is the 
most ancient of the kind among the French. Plate armour 
in Germany, is somewhat older; and in Italy, I believe it was 
introduced still earlier, for these nations were more advanced 
in arts and manufactures than their western contemporaries, 
whose energies were solely bent on mutual unprofitable de- 
struction. 

In the ninth series are assembled, designs of costumes which 
demanded particular research and attention; and although it is 
far from complete, contains already many interesting specimens. 
To those conversant with the works which treat of the military 
and religious orders of knighthood, it is a well known fact, 
that with few exceptions, and exclusive of badges, crosses, and 
collars, the plates are absolutely fanciftd. Many figures of 



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3g0 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

knigUts are pourtrayed in armour and costumes which never 
existed at all, or represent fashions posterior to the exUnction 
of the orders they pretend to illustrate. With a view to]obtain 
designs founded upon such authority as could claim an ad- 
missible degree of authenticity; recourse wieus had to original 
statute books of orders; stained glass and monumental effigies^ 
apd pictures representing personages in their knightly cos- 
tumes, chapteraly conventual or military. Chance also supplied 
me with ,a series of miniatures, preserved from an illuminated 
codex, treating on the subject, and formerly in the library of 
one of the resident tongues * at Valetta. Those which I had the 
good fortune .to find still together, were mostly of the early- 
religious orders, repeatedly figged according to Iheir classy 
duties, ceremonies, and successive changes. The sources of in- 
formation must have been authentic, for not one offered the 
anomaly of armour not properly belonging to the period 
represented. The knights of St. John, of Jerusal^, were 
figured in costumes unquestionably correct, as early as the 
end of the thirteenth century; the Templars, Teutonic knights; 
Lazarionites, Sepulchrians, and knights of St* Thomas of 
Canterbury^ unnoticed in English history, (and, as far]^as I 
know, quoted only by the writer, cited by Kasper Henneberger, 
an eye-witness, who states them to have been 5000 men at the 
last siege and det^uction of Ptolomais or Acre, 1291,) likewise 
occurred. What appeared remarkable was, that the ^^ Courte 
bistoire et figures des ordres &c. I2mo. published at Amster- 
dam, 1699," contains figures evidently taken from this source ; 
but that from some cause the most ancient and interesting have 
been left unnoticed. If a competent inquirer would search 
ainong the early pictures of family portraits in the old castles 
of Italy, much interesting information on the present subject 
would still be found. Confined as my own researches have 
been, by means of friends, and by constant attention even on 

* It may be superfluous to remind the reader, that the order of St. John of 
Jerusalem or of Malta was classed by tongpues or languages, not by nations. 



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HIS COLUBCTION OF DRAWINGS. 281 

the orders of kDighthood, much matter {las been collected.— 
Sketches have been obtained from Spain, Portugal, France, 
Italy, and Germany. There exist now, or at least until within 
these few years, pictures of crossed knights, and religious 
orders in the church of the Manger, at Nazareth. They were 
discovered, I am informed^ in the south aisle, on repairing 
those of some saints of the Or^k church painted over them; 
there are also similar remains in fresco, on the walls of the 
castle of Arwad, the ancient Aradus, and'atBama* — ^ther^ 
rare crusaders, or more properly templars, painted on the wallfi 
of the hall of - castle in the Pyrenees, once the refectory 

of the resident knight9. At t^e castl^ of Lacerda, in Castile 
there was, until the French invc^ipn, a gallery of ancien^ 
knights of the several orders of Spain. Hollar has preserved 
the twenty-six founders of the Grarter, set up by Bruges, g^« 
ter king-at-arms, in the reig^ of Henry the Fifth, in stained 
glass, at Stamford ; and the creation of the order De la Banda 
was represented in a picture, which may still exist in Q;ueen 
Johanna^s palace, near Naples. From the above, and from 
several monumental effig^es^ the series (as far as it goes) is 
composed ; and to complete the history of chivalrous institu- 
tions, the ceremonies are added which relate to the vigil of 
arms, the creation of a knight, the joust, tournament, and com- 
bat on foot-^1 firom original illuminations or satisfactory 
authorities. Among others, the supporters of coats of arms 
figuring, not on s^s, but in person, ^t a joust and combat 
given by the Spaniards, at Brussels, in 1568. 

Finally — ^that nothing important might be wanting in the 
ensembk of the feudal ages, there is a considerable series of 
gpreat seals of sovereigns, g^eat vassals, and knights, of differ- 
ent countries and ages; and a collection of armorial bearings, 
from the rolls of the camp at Halidon hill, Caerlaverock, the 
barons of England, the nobility of Scotland from Sir David 

* In the ruins of a convent are still to be seen the arms of sereral German 
nobles ; and similar traces in the conTentual church on Mount SlnaL 

L X. 



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282 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON "^ 

Lindsay ; the great nobility of Gennany, many of France, the 
Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Hungary, and Poland. All these are 
in blazoi7| and many with quarterings, supporters and crests. 
Where the feudal ages terPiinate, commence the military cos- 
tumes, from the time that regular stipendiaries wearing general 
badges, and posteriorly uniforms and regimentals were adopted. 
They consist of figures of different nations, and come down 
chronologically to our own period. Amongpst the most curious 
is the earliest hand-gun used by cuirassiers in the innocuous 
armies of the Italian condqttieri, abont 1471. English hand- 
guns, ond bow-men of nearly the same period follow, both 
marked with the red cross upon their breasts and backs, 
There are t! e Swiss of the field of Moret, and those who formed 
in four ranks at Foriioue, dressed in party colours white and 
yellow wambaize, and red and green hose. Venetian turco- 
poliers or light-horse, afterwards known as cravats, and since 
by the Hungarian ]]name of bursars. Russian horse of 1590, 
Croats of 1494, a^id hussars of 1505 — ^In this collection are 
found different kinds of cannon, bombards, and machines of 
wai> used sines the invention of gunpowder; soldiers, guards, 
light hor^o, archers on horseback, men at arms ; banners and 
standardr of Henry the Eighth; Welshmen half-clothed, and 
t>eariiig javelb^, as they appeared at the siege of Boulogne ; 
officers, eiisigns, andfsoldicrs of the regiments of Temple and 
Sidney, and cuirassiers of that of Essex, all serving by com- 
mand of El-zabeth, in the wars of the Low countries; wild 
IrLh, in the aervice of Spain ; and White Moors, and High- 
lander' , fighting naked at the battle of Rymenant near Mechlin, 
in 1579.« Then follow the horse of Charles the First, and the 
Pai'Iiament infantry, when red clothes first came into use; 
cavalry and infisintry, under Marlborough ; Highlanders, when 
first raised into a royal regiment, the costume of the army 
under the duke of Cumberland ; Prussians of the seven years* 
war ; till we reach the contests of our own times. 

* This wiw probably the last display of the custom of their ancestors the 
Macatie, Plots, and Caledonians, 



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HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 283 

The mililarj costumes relating' to the war^ wliicli aroi^e out 
of the Freticb revolution, form the next series; here we fiud 
the uniforms of regiments and chiefs, often named in the 
ricis^itudes of that .>^nguiiiary period p French, Rit^ian, Au<»* 
trian, Pnissian, Bavarian, Swedisih, Danish, Dutchi Spanish, 
Portuguese, Wirtemberg, Badea^ Swiss, and Italians, mostly 
drawn in the field. The British series was etched by myself, 
and consequently were not worked up in finished drawings. 
A part was published in 1813 — 1814, and in conjunction with 
the foreign corps in the British service, and several statistical 
tables, forms the concluding series of military costume. These 
last were al! taken from the patterns at the Board of Clothing, 
and from orderlies at the Horse Guards. 

I have yet another series of costumes to mention, one of very 
considerable extent, but of less interest, because it is in a great 
measure derived from modern publications. In this collection 
are arranged the more recent modern dresses and habits of the 
world. Those of Europe contain many from the original 
drawings in the collection of the late duke of Cumberland, in 
the King's libraryt now transferred to the British museum; the 
Turks from originals transmitted from Constantinople; the 
Persian, Indian, and Chinese from paintings by native artists; 
the Negro and American aboriginal tribes are many of them 
sketched from life; and the aneieiit Mexican costumtis are 
taken from their own picture writings in the library of Berlin^ 
&c* . . • 

The modern costumes stand in some relation with the topo» 
graphical collection I am about to notice; but before entering 
upon the scries of views, it will be proper to mention a separate 
collection, still unnoticed, and perhaps the most interesting of 
the whole. It is that which contains delineations of the dif- 
fercnt kinds of ships and ressels used by man from the earliest 
period, and brought together for the purpose chiefly of illus- 
trating three papers on ship building, and the ancient arts of 



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284 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

nayigatioDi read snccessiyely before the Society. Commeiidii^ 
with the single log of the Coranas, the double and triple log 
catamarans of Australia, ancient Peru, and the present Madras, 
it presents to the eye successire improyements on the (Bark) 
bundle of rushes, the raft, balsa, canoe, the primitive riy^« 
craft of the Tigris, Indus, and of the Nile; then sea yessels of 
Egypt and Phoenicia, Greek and Roman triremes, lintres, 
holcos, the galleys of the middle ages, galeasses, g^eons, 
hurcas, palandries, balingers, caraccas, carayellias, ships of 
forecastle ; and finally men of frar of different dates, classes, 
and nations ; forming 188 figures in 102 drawings. 

The topographical collection, which, according to the 
arrangement pursued follows the shipping, constitutes the 
second grand division of die work. It consists of views in 
different parts of the world ; of which about GOO were drawn 
upon the spot, during repeated voyages and travels through 
Europe and America: to these were added a considerable 
number copied from the original sketches made by ftiends, or 
collected by them, and in general by military associales in 
both hemispheres. Among others, Col. Trench, Major Pierre- 
pont, Lieut.-Cols. Bainbrigge and Freeth, Capt. Appelius,the 
Rev. W. Hennah, &c. — to which must be added, several most 
interesting scenes from the beauttfiil sketch books of Mrs. 
Buckland. From Capt. Delafons and other officers of the 
Soyal Navy, Chinese scenes and views in the Indian Ocean, 
and on the coast of the Mediterranean have been obtained, as also 
several Polar scenes. In order to render this collection still 
more complete, copies were taken from the views published in 
a great number of modem voyages and travels. Europe 
forms about four-«evenths of the whole, exhibiting scenes in 
Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel islands, France, the Nether* 
lands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russii^ Greece, 
Italy, Sicily, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal. Then follow Bar- 
bary, Western and Central Africa, the Cape, the East coast, 
Abyssinia, and Egypt. In Asia, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine^ 



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ON HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 965 

Arabia, Persia, India, China, Australia, and Polynesia. In 
America, the Polar regions, Canadas, United States, California, 
Mexico, the West Indies, Terra Firma, Guiana, Brazil, and 
Peru ; the whole amounting to about one thousand nine hun- 
dred drawings. 

I come now to the third and last great diTisdon of what has 
been termed my interminable collection ; that from which many 
specimens hare been published in Europe and even in America, 
and die one for which I hare ever had the strongest predilec- 
tion. Here are collected the result of observations and sketches 
of many years, carried on through vicissitudes of climate and 
circumstances, in the camp, at sea, in gfarrison, in forests, and 
in museums of both hemispheres* Thirty-four great establish- 
ments for the study of natural history have been consulted ; 
and among these, the Leverian and British museums, Bullock^ 
the Missionaries, the India Company's, the Jardin du Roi, at 
Paris, the Museums of Munich, Dresden, and Berlin ; those of 
Bonn, and of my learned friend Mr. Temminick ; also of 
Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore, have afforded the 
most plentiful supply of materials. In this last, minor private 
collections are not included; though in justice to the liberality 
of Mr. Leadbeater, and Mr. Drew of Devonport, I must not 
omit the many valuable and sometimes unique objects I have 
been enabled to copy from their stores, as also from the most 
varied menagerie in Europe ; I mean that of Mr. Cross, late 
of Exeter Change, from whence I have derived many sketches, 
taken from living specimens. After these sources, I must 
mention extracts of the collections of original drawings at 
Paris, Berlin, the British museum; those of Baron Cuvier, 
and of his brother the Chevalier F. Cuvier. The grand col- 
lection of the late Sir Joseph Banks, Gen. Hardwicke, Mr. Le 
Sueur, John Wilson, esq. Miss Gosseling, Dr. Leach, and John 
Gray, esq. 

In the Sfomimdia, the physical history of man is illustrated 



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286 MAJOR HAMILTON SMITH ON 

by a great variety of designs of humaii crania; portraits of 
many individuals, and whole lengths of the races, some of 
which are taken from living specimens. The Canuv(H*a are 
very abundant; particularly the families of viverrine, ursine, 
canine and feline aninuds ; but the ruminantia we particularly 
numerous, and form by far the largest original collection in 
existence. Since the paper on this order was published, in 
Mr. Griffith's translation of Cuvier*s Regne animal^ many im* 
portant additions have been made to a collection, chiefly 
through the liberality of General Hardwicke; and it is a 
pleasing duty to add, that more are promised by the active 
exertions of the Asiatic society, and from Canton and Brazil-* 
these series contain above one thousand figures. 

Of ornithological specimens, the museum of the Jardin du 
Roi at Paris, furnished alone near six hundred. Bullock's, the 
Philadelphia and New York museums have likewise Aimished 
a great many. In this collection, are the greatest number of 
objects from private cabinets, and from original drawings, 
executed in India. It is particularly rich in Palmipedes, 
Lamellirostres, Grail inaceee, and Grallee. Some passerine ft* 
milies are likewise numerous, and contain several not as yet 
engraved, notwithstanding that so many works on ornithology 
daily issue from the press — ^Mr. Howitt and Mr, Griffith have 
published several. 

The birds figured amount to about two thousand three hun* 
dred, all accompanied by an appropriate backscape, to illustrate 
the habitat of the species. I ought to have stated in the Mam- 
malia that similar backscapes have been sketched to them, 
often taken on the spot where the specimen was found or where 
it was known to reside. 

The icthiological series forms the third collection of this 
division, and consists of fish drawn from living or rec^it 
specimens chiefly caught in the Channel» at sea, off Madeira^on 



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HIS COLLECTION OF DRAWINGS. 887 

the west coast of Africa, on the east coast of South America, 
the West Indies, North America seas, lakes, and riv^ers ; to 
these are added copies of nearly the whole collection in the 
Banksian library, which was obtained during Cook's voyages, 
a considerable number of the most remarkable in the collection 
of the Prince of Nassau at Berlin, and the Plumieriau at Paris* 
Moreover, dramtig^ fiom spccinieLi?i io varioa^ museums atid 
private collections. It consists at present of nearly one thou* 
sand figures, among which some that mny have escaped the 
extensive researcbeji of Baron Cuvier, whose elaborate work 
on this branch of Zoology in now iti the course of publication. 

In the closing series of the whole, are several drawings which 
do not belong to any of the foregoing. Among theni an inter- 
esting subject of a great Boa Cencbris, (Aboma) a scries of 
Crocodiles, Sepiadfe^ Mollnsca, and JLepidoptera ; the tir^jt of 
these were intended to exemplify new species in each of the 
stib-genera, and the second shows several colossal specie.^ of 
Sepia and Loligo^ which do not appear to have been circum^ 
stantially described. 

Id this abstract I may have been too diffuse on some subjects, 
and not sulHciently so on others; judging that what was 
deemed to be least known would tolerate a more detailed ex- 
planation — I did not call your attention mneli to the long series 
of views, nor to Zoological subjects, the nature of which niu^t 
be similar in a great measure to all other collections of the 
like character* But the costumes of nations having some 
claim to originality, and certainly a much gi eater to industry 
and research, could not, it appeared, Ijc submitted in their 
true light without explaining the view taken of tbem, and 
the circumstances and principles which attended the execu- 
tion. 

Notwithstandbgmany, perhaps unavoidable, overflights and 



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388 MAJOR HAMllrrON SMITH ON 

defects, in the manner as well as the matter of this still inoom^ 
plete accumulation of documents— those who are desirous of 
forming a more correct notion of much of the habits and 
customs of our ancestors, and of other nations in different 
ages — ^those who wish to view something of the carriage and 
portraiture of many among the celebrated personages of our 
national history, will find something to give this seductive 
desire of our fancies, '* a local habitation and a name '' — hence 
artists who seek for their historical conceptions-^thjat impress 
of character and truth which is the surest vehicle of the great 
and beautiful— will here find abundance of materials, with 
authorities to establish their degree of authenticity. 



Lockyer-streei, Pljfmoutky 
9lh Nov. 1890. 



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IX, 



ON THE ORKtTHOLOGY OP THE StOUTH OF DEVO^ft 
By EDWARD MOORE, M. D. F. L S- AND MEMBER OF THE 
PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION; IN A LETTER TO THE PR ESlDErtfT. 



The Tran^ctions of this Institutiaii will doubtless be 
expected to contEiiti some observations oo subjects of science, 
which admit of illustration in our own immediate neighbour- 
hood ; and J as in u work of tbis nature, we should not be 
negligent of any means which may afford information to the 
inquirer^ I have been induced to offer a list or catalogue of 
the different species of birds, which are to be met with in the 
south of Devonshire* I am not aware that any thing of the 
kind has hitherto been published — the various writers on the 
history of the county, (except perhaps Polwhele,) have not 
made Ornithology an object of much regard — and it is chiefly 
from one or two scientific men who have particularly devoted 
themselves to it» that we are to derive most of our inforni^vdon 
on the subject: I know of no one, who m pursuit of Tiinish 
Ornithology, has conferred greater benefits on th«j Nv<ural 



M M 



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290 ^^ MOORE ON THE ORNmiOLOGT 

History of our own county, than tbe late CoL Montagu, of 
Kingsbridge, author of the ** Ornithological Dictionary/' — 
Another work, '^Ornithologia Danmoniensis,'' was commenced 
in 1809, by Dr. A. 6. Tucker, of Ashburton, but not continued. 
A catalogue of the birds of Dartmoor was furnished by this 
gentleman towards the illustration of Carrington's poem,pub» 
lished in 1826. 

A taste for Ornithology, however, has not been wanting in 
many parts of the county, and many gentlemen have made 
considerable collections, but their observations have seldom 
been made known, and valuable specimens have often been 
lost for want of attention ; many of these, however, still exist ; 
the most perfect museums are those of Mr« Comyns, of Mount 
Pleasant, near Dawlish ; of Rev. Mr. Yaughaa, of Aveton 
Giffard; and of Dr. Magrath, of Plymouth; other gentlemen 
have recently turned their attention to the subject, whose 
names I shall have to refer to, as I proceed. 

The whole of the county of Devon, and its southern division 
in particular, affords peculiar facilities for the pursuit of this 
investigation ; in no district perhaps, of equal space, is there 
such a variety of country calculated to be selected, as places 
of resort, by the feathered tribes; whatever is to be expected 
from mountain or valley, river or sea, is here to be met with. 
Nearly in the centre of the county are the wild and barren 
heights of Dartmoor, and throughout the whole of the district 
termed the South Hams, we may observe a continued succession 
of hill and vale; the latter of which is particularly abundant 
in wood, and the country is intersected by numerous rivens, 
most of which take their rise from the higher regions of the 
moor. Twelve of the principal — the Axe, the Sid, the Otter, 
the Dawl, the Teign, the Dart, the Avon, the Erme, the Yealm, 
the Plym, and the Tamar, besides the inlet of Salcombe, dis* 
charge their waters into the British Channel, while the whole 
line of coast, extending upwards of sixty miles, is diversified 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 291 

Trith bays, marshes, sands, and insulated rocks, calculated to 
afford protection to the different tribes of sea fowl. 

Independently of the species which may be considered indi- 
genous to the country, there are many which visit us in their 
peregrinations from one climate to another; and any unusual 
variation in the winds, or their long continuance in one di- 
rection, will give us an opportunity of occasionally discovering 
some rare kinds of birds. Our extensive line of coast is 
favourable in this view, and we accordingly find that many 
of the rarest species have been found in Devonshire after a 
storm. In October, 1829, after a long and continued south- 
westerly wind two or three black-toed Gulls, Phalaropes, and 
young Terns, were procured ; the Stormy Petrel, Little Auk, 
&c. have been some timesobtained far inland, doubtless owing 
to similar causes, and as they are generally found in a weak 
or starving condition on those occasions, we may infer that the 
turbulent state of the sea, when of several days' duration, 
renders them incapable of procuring food,^ and thus drives 
them to the shore. 

It is a subject of remark that many birds^ which formerly 
existed in great numbers here^ are now seldom to be met with^ 
or have entirely disappeared ; the Egret and Crane are become 
almost unknown^ only one specimen of the latter has been 
obtained for many years; the Kite forty years ago was very 
common^ but now I cannot find a specimen in any collection 
in this district, and Montagu remarks that he only saw one 
during twelve years' residence in the south of Devon. Our 
rivers formerly abounded in Wild Duck and Teal ; but these 
are considerably diminished in number; — the causes may 
doubtless be ascribed to the increased population, drainage of 
marshes, or the systematic pursuit of wUd fowl for the table, and 
probably most of all to the usual mildness of our winters ; since 
in the present year (1830,) the severe weather of the month of 
January has furnished U3 with great abundance of Wild Swans, 



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2ff2 D^ MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

Geese, and many rare species of the Duck tribe. In the ar-^ 
rangement cf the species in the following catalogue I shall 
follow the system of CuTier, (<<Regne Animal/' 2nd edition, 
1829y) and in describing the synonyma of the species, I shall 
chiefly adopt those of Temminck, (^ Manuel d'Omithologie,^ 
9nd edition.) When first attention was paid to Ornithology, 
every difference of plumage was thought sufficient to constitute 
a difference of species, until it was discovered that the same 
bird frequently assumed a new livery at the moulting season 
in autumn ; and even this information was not capable of 
exposing the secrets of nature, until the universal thirst for 
investigation over the greater part of the globe, led to a desire 
to examine the species at the situations of their habitual haunts, 
which has furnished us with the knowledge that not only do 
the g^reater number of birds undergo a change of plumage in 
autumn, but also in the spring, and that frequently the differ- 
ence is so g^jeat, that it effects a complete metamorphosis of 
the individual, rendering it extremely difficult to detect; this 
is exemplified in the Tringa pugpiax, or Fighting Ruff, the 
male of which is fumished with a large ruff about the neck, 
during the three months of the breeding season only, and 
afterwards losing it, has been repeatedly mistaken for three 
or four other species. In the same way the Knot has been 
multiplied into six species ; and the greater number of the 
Sand-piper tribe have been equally mistaken. Moreover, 
young birds have a plumagfe often differing from their parents, 
more especially from the male; and in many cases do not 
acquire their adult appearance for three or four years, as is 
observed, particularly in the Gulls. From these causes the 
labours of later naturalists have been directed, not only to 
obtain an acquaintance with new species, but also to rectify 
the errcNTs which a want of this information had occasioned in 
the Linnean system — errors which the edition published by 
Gmelin tended to augment. <<Le seul catalogue general 
des animaux, (says Cuvier, p. 6.) que Ton poss^ddt alors, 



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OP THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 293 

et que Pod ait encore anjourd'hui, le syst^me de Linnaeus, 
venait d^^tre disfigar^ par un editeur malheureuxyqui ne s'etait 
pas m^me donn^ le soin d'approfondir les principes de cet 
ingenieux Methodiste, et qui, partout ou il avait rencontre 
quelque desordre, avait semble faire des efforts ponr le rendre 
plus inextricable." The identification of species has been 
very successfully pursued, especially by Temminck and Mon- 
tagu ; so that many which were ^uncertain are now properly 
arranged beyond the possibility of doubt. It is not however 
my intention to give an enlarged view of the subject of Orni- 
thology, as that would be incompatible with the object of this 
work, and is indeed fully detailed in the different standard 
publications. And while I forbear to enter into a detailed 
account ofthe habits or even description (except in particular 
instances,) of the birds I have to mention, I shall consider it 
sufficient for me to speak of the species itself, and g^ve the 
authority by which it is to be considered a production of this 
neighbourhood, which will be done by a reference to approved 
works, or to individu&l specimens at present existing in the 
collections of gentlemen, whose names I shall assume the liberty 
of stating; while those which I possess myself, will be dis- 
tinguished by my initials being attached to them. 

My opportunities have not enabled me to extend my inquiries 
much into the north of Devon, but I am not aware that any 
species have been found there, beyond what belong to the 
south, except the Nucifiraga Caryocatactes ( Corvus Caryoca- 
tactes, of Gmelin ) Nutcracker Crow, of which one specimen 
is mentioned by Montagu as having been obtained in that 
part of the county : the Alca impennis, or Great Auk, a speci- 
men of which, (Mr. Gosling informs me,) was picked up dead 
near Lundy Island; and the Jktdea, Minuta, Little Bittern, 
obtained near Crediton, in May, 1806. (Montagu's Ornitholog- 
ical Dictionary.) 



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294 OR- MOOEB ON THE 0RNITH0L06T 

Class.— AVES. 

Order 1.— BIRDS OF PREY. 
Fanu 1,— DiURNAK* 
Gen*— FALCONS. 

Sect. IGNOBLE BIRDS OF PREY. 

Sub-genus — (True Falcons.) 

Species 1. — Common Falcon, C Falco commanis. (Gmelm.^ 

rPeregrine, or < ■ ■ peregrrinos* 

< Barbary Falcon f ■ barbanis. 

(^Yearling Falcon 

The Peregrine and Barbary Falcons are the common Falcons 
in different states of moult, ( Cuvier Regne Ammal^ ed. 1829^ 
p« 320.) Dr. Shaw and Montagu have considered the Lanner 
a variety of this bird; but Cuvier observes that it is distinct, 
and that it approaches the character of his genus, Hiero-falco 
(Jet'faJjcon.) TeamxnQk also considers the true Lanner of 
Linneus to be a distinct species, (Manuel d^ Ornithologies ed. 2, 
p. 23.^ — ^the Yearling Falcon is the young. It breeds in our 
woods, and specimens are not unfrequently met with. Mr. 
Rowe, of Plymouth, has two; and Mr. Drew, of Devonport, 
two in his collection. 

Sp. 2. — ^HoBBT Falcon* — ^Falco subbuteo. (Im.) 

Breeds in the woods in this neighbourhood : arrives in spring, 
and leaves us about October. Dr. Isbell , of Stonehouse, has two 
specimens ; and Mr. Drew one. 

Sp. 3.— The Merlin, ( Falco eesalon, (lAn.) 

or Stone Falcon I '- — Utho ftdoo. (lin,) 

Visits us in winter only : a specimen in Drew's collection* 
The Stone Falcon otLaikam is the old male. {Temmnck.) 



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OF THB-80UTO OF DBVON. 295' 

Sp. 4.— The KESTREL.-^Falco tinnunculus. 

Very common ; builds in the cliffs on the sea-coast, par- 
ticularly at Wembury, near Plymouth ; — specimens in my 
collection. E. M. 

Sect. u.^IGNOBLE BIRDS OF PREY. 

Gen.— EAGLES. 

Subg.— (True Eagles.) 

Sp. 5. — Common Eagle, C Aquila heliaca. (Samgny.) 

Rini^il Basrle, or < Falco fulvus. (GmJ 
Golden Eagle, ^ — chrysaelos. (Qm.), 

Cuvier has continued the F. fulTUs and F. chrysaetos as 
distinct species, yet Temminck in noticing the circumstance, 
declares them to be the same at different ages. The F. 
chrysaetos. Golden or Royal Eagle, is the old bird. — The 
Aquila fulva of Meyer ; Ring-tail of Latham^ (sp. 6,) or the F. 
fluYUs, melaneetos and niger of Omehn^ and Common Eagle 
of CStvier is a young bird of the first year. These birds have 
been frequently met with in England, but rarely in the south ; 
yet I am informed, that some years since, a pair of them built 
on Dewerstone rock, in Bickleigh Tale, near Plymouth. 

Subg.— -(Fishing Eagles.) 
Sp. 6. — Sea-Eagle, fHalieetus leucocephalus, (Shawns Z.) 

Osprey-Eagle, or '\ 

Cinereous Eagle, l^Falco otdfrtgus ; alblciUa and albicaada. (Qm) 



Rare ; one of these birds was caught at the Eddystone a few 
years ago, and preserTed alive for some time, by the late Addis 
Archer, esq. of Leigham; an accurate drawing of which I 
have seen in possession of Mr. Gosling. 



Siibg.— (Baldbnzzards.) 

BUZZARD, ^ Pandion h 
)y, I Falc6 halistu 

Not uncommon; a fine specimen was shot on the Erme 



Sp. 7. — The Baldbuzzard, ^ Pandion halieeetus. (Shaw.) 

or Oiprey, \ Falc6 halistus. (Lin.) 



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'296 I>ft' MOORE ON TH£ ORNITHOrx>GY 

riTer, by R. Jolian^ esq, of Estover, and is now in th£it gentle* 
man's collection. Mr. Comyns has one, shot on the Exe. 
Montagu says it is more common in Devonshire than in any 
part of the kingdom. 

Subg. — (Goshawks.) 
Sp. 8. — Common Goshawk, ^ Astur palumbarius. (Shaw.) 

\ Faleo palombarios. (IdnJ 

Very rare : but has been found on Dartmoor, according to 
Dr. Tucker. See CarringtotCs Dartmoor. 

Sp. 9. — Sparrow Hawk ^ Nisus. (Cue.) 

\ Falco nisus. (JUn,) 

Common all the year— specimens in my own colIection—E. M. 

Subg.— (Kites.) 
Sp. 10. — Common Kite, % Milvus ictinus. (Shaw.) 

or Glead, ( Falco milvus. CLin,J 

This bird was extremely frequent here about forty or fifty 
years ago, as I am informed by some diligent Naturalists : but 
it is now become extremely rare. Montagu says, that in 
twelve years' residence in DeTonshire, he only obserTed one 
of the species. (Om. Diet. Sup.) I have not found a specimen 
in any collection, but it has been seen on Dartmoor. Carring'- 
ton^s Dartmoor. 

Subg. — (Honey-buzzard.) 
Sp. 11. — ^The HoNET-BuzzARD ^ Pemis apivoms. (Shaw.) 

^ Falco aplToms. (Lin.J 

Very rare ; one was seen by the Rev. Mr. Holdsworth, on 
Slapton Ley, pursuing Dragon flies ; Montagu. It has been 
noticed also on Dartmoor. Carrington. 

Subg. — (Buzzards.) 

Sp. 12.-— Common BuzzARD,/Buteo vulgaris. (Shaw.) 

LFalco buteo. {Lim.J 

Very common here; erroneously termed Kites by the com- 
mon people. E. M. 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DfiVOK. 297 

Siibg.^*(Moor.Biizzards.) 
Sp, 13, — ^Hen-HarrieRi /Circus pygargus. (Shaw.) 

Ring-Tail (female) LFalco-pygargus, and Cyaneus. (Lin.J 

The Falco cyaneus, or Hen-harrier, was long suspected to 
be the male of the Ring-tail ; and this was proved to be the 
case by Montagu. (Vide Linnean Transactions, vol. 9. and 
Orn. Diet. Sup») I possess a pair of these birds, shot at the 
same time with a double barrel, by R, Julian, esq. and the 
female dropped an .egg as she fell. The Falco-griseus, or 
Grey Falcon of Linneus is, according to Temminckf a young 
male passing to the adult state. E. M» 

Sp. 14.— AsH-coLOXJRED Falcon fCircus cineraceus t 

LFalco cineraceos. (Montagu.) 

Discovered by Montagu; i^ot in 1803, near Kingsbridge; 
again in 1808, by Mr. Templer's game-keeper at Stover. A 
nest was obtained from a furze-brake by Dr. Tucker, of Ash- 
burton ; the female is of a brown colour, but the under parts 
more ferruginous, a^d the colours brighter than in the Ring- 
tail or female Hen-harrier— probably leares \\a in winter.* 

Sp. 15.*i-HARPY ; Moor-Buzzard,/Circus eBruginosus. Shaw. 
or Marsh-Hawk. l.Falco rufus. (Lin,) 

The Falco rufus of Latham^ is, according to Temmmck^ the 
young bird of the first year; of which a specimen shot at 
Wembury, is in possession of Mr. J. Whipple, surgeon of this 
town. The Falco eeruginosus, or Moor Buzzard of authors, is 
the same bird after its second moult. Temmmck Manuel^ p. 
71. It has been obtained at Shaugh, and Whittleborough 
down, near Plymouth; and I am informed by the warreners 
on Dartmoor, that it is not uncommon, and conunits great 
depredations among their rabbits. 

* Vide Ornitholoff. Diet. Sap. ; and Lin. Trans. 

N K 



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298 ^^ MOORE ON THE ORN!THOU>OY 

Fam. 2. — ^Nocturnal Birds. 
Gen.— STRIX.~(JUii.) 

Subg.— (Ear-Owls.) 

Sp. 16.«-LoNo-EARED OwL. f Otus Europoeus. (Shaw.) 

LStrizotos. CUn.) 

This bird has been obtained at Leigham, near Plymouth : 
builds in trees surrounded with i^y, and rests much on the 
^ound— a specimen in Drew's collection. 

Sp. 17.— Short-eared Owl, fOtus brachyotos. Shaw. 

\Striz brachyotuf • Qmm, 

Termed also the Woodcock-owl, from its being supposed to 
arrive with the Woodcock. I possess a specimen, which was 
diot March 13th,. 1829: one in Mr. Rowe's collection. £. M. 

Subg.— (True Owls.) 
Sp. 18. — ^White Owl.— Strix flammea. Xm. 
Very common. E. M. 

8^1^.— (Howkts.) 
Sp. 19.— Brown or Tawny Owl, rSymium stridnlum. Sh. 

\StrizAlaoo,aiidStrldiiU. lAn, 

Very common ; a male and female were caught in a dove- 
cot, and presented to me by the Rev. Walter Radcliffe, of 
Warleigh ; it is the only species which hoots, and chiefly at 
night. E. M. 

Subg.— (Horn Owk.) 

Sp. 20.— Great-eared Owl /Bubo microcephalus. Shaw. 

or Eagle Owl. \strlx bubo. 

A very rare species with us; I have seen one specimen near 
Honiton in 1820. 



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OP THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 299 

Subg.— (Night Owls.) 
Sp* 21,— Little Owl, rNactiia pyginaea, (Shaw,) 

Very rarei one specimen, procured here, was f^exit to Mr, 
Drew to be prepared : another wm shot by Mr, ComynF, a 
few years aiiice, near Dawlbh, 

Order a^PASSERINE BIRDS. 

Fam, 1, — Dentirostres. 

Gen.-^HRIKES. 

Subg,— (True Shrikes,) 

Spi SS< — Common orGnEATSitRiKEf fLanius cxcubiton £{n. 

or Bulchcr Bird, \ 

A very rare bird in England. Montagu saw two which 
were shot in Wiltshire, «*One of them was seen in February^ 
1830, about the plantatioug at Ham, near Plymouth, the resi- 
dence of Mrsi. Collins/* (See also Carrinffion^s Dartmoor,} 

Sp, 23, — Red-backed S[fRiKE,/Lanius collurio. Gmn, 

or Butdier Bird I 

This bird is very frequent here in summer, arriving in May, 
and departing in September, E. M. 

Gen,— THE FLY-CATCHERS. 

Subg,— {True Fly-catchers.) 

Sp.24» — Spotted Fly-catcher. — Muscicapa grisola. Gmn, 

Common; arrives iu spring, and departs in Septamber. E.M, 

Gen— THE COTINGAS- 
Subg,— (The Chatterers.) 
Sp.25,— BoHEMiAff CHArTEftER^t BombycillaBohemica, S/i. 

or Waswip^, i Antpelij garfulos. {Lin.) 

Is occasionally obtained m this ndghbourh£M>d, in its pajs- 



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300 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

sage from the north, where it is said to build near the Arctic 
Circle. Temminck says, it is only accidentally found in the 
temperate parts of Europe, from Nov. to Jan. (Manuel.) A 
specimen, shot here, Jan. 1829, is in Mr. Drew's collection* 
Mr. Rowe, of Plymouth, and Mr. C. Tripe, of Devonport, also 
possess specimens. . Another was shot in Boring^on Park, in 
this neighbourhood. (T. E. Crosling, esq.) 

Gen.— THRUSHES. 

Subg.— (True Thrushes.) 

Sp. 26.— Common Black Bird. — Turdus morula. (Lin.) 

Very conmion ; I possess a variety of the male — ^the bill and 
feet yellow, and the entire plumage of a dull cream colour- 
shot at Warleigh, and presented by the Rev. W. Radcliffe. 
A similar one is in the collection of I. Comyns, esq. Mount 
Pleasant, near Dawlish. E. M. 

Sp. 27. — ^RiNG Ouzel, J Turdus torquatus. 

or Michaelmas Bird. ( 

This bird arrives here in April, and d^arts in October. 
Mr. Whiie^ (History of Selbome) remarks that these birds 
are seen in flocks on the coast of Sussex, in April, and October^ 
where they remain about three weeks only — ^they build on the 
borders of Dartmoor, where they have been seen to enter holes 
in the rocks, by R. Julian, esq. who possesses a specimen, shot 
Sept. 1829. I am informed by George Leach, esq. that he 
has shot great numbers of them on the moor, during the 
summer. 

Sp. 28. — Missel Thrush, S Turdus visjcivorus. Lin. 

or Holmscreech, ^ 

Conmion here; frequenting woody districts; in winter they 
are seen in small flocks of five or six — probably the entire 
brood. E. M. 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 301 

Sp. 29. FiBLDFARB. — Turdus pilaris. (Lin.) 

Arrives in large flocks about October, and departs in Feb- 
ruary or March. E. M. 

Sp* 30, — ^TitRusii, S Turdus mu&icu», 

or Maris, t 

Common all the year — a white variety in Mr. Comyn's col- 
lection ; and another^ with a white spot occupying the hack 
of the neck and fihoulder^^ in Br. Magrath's possession. E« AL 

Sp . 3 1 . — R E DW mo » — T u rd us il iacus. 

Common in winter; arriving and departing with the Fiekl- 
Tares, E. M, 

Sub^,— (The Water Ouzels.) 
Sp. 32, — Water Ouzel, rCinclus aquaticns. (Tem,) 

< Tardus cmc1u9. (Latham^) 
I Sturaua cinclus, (Lin~) 

Breeds in DeTonshire, and continues all the year; Montagu 
says, it use^ its wings tti swimming under water; but that it 
cannot swim on the surface, and doubts if it ever walks at the 
bottom. I have frequently seen il on the higher branches of 
the Plym, about Bickleigh vale. E, M, 

Gen,— THE CRACKLES, ^ 

Sp, 33.— RosE-ooiot^RED Ouzel, rCracuIa Rosea ? (CVnj.) 

<jrTbnj*h, S Turdus Rosens, (Lin.) 

^Pastor Rosects, (Tern.) 

Is an extremely rare bird i inhabiting the warmer parts of 
Asia and Africa, and passing regularly through Italy mid 
Spain, but very rare in other places, — (Tmmnmck ManmL) 
One was killed in Oxfordshire, in 1794; and I am informed 
by the Rev, Kerr Vaughau, that a pair were shot in the garden 
of the Rev, E, Edmonds, near Aveton Giflord, which he sent 
to the British Museum, 



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202 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOIX>GT 

Gen.— THE ORIOLBS. 
Sp. 34.— -Golden OAiOLE.-*OrioIus galbula. (Lm) 

This rare bird has been occasionally met with here in the 
spring; it is rather common in Holland and France, says 
Temminckj where it congregates in winter; specimens hare 
occasionally been sent to Mr. Drew for preservation ; one was 
shot by R. Julian, esq« in this neighbourhood. They have 
been also seen at Leigham and Mount Edgcumbe. 

Gen.— THE SOFT-BILLS. 

Subg.— (The Stone-Chats.) 
Sp. 35.«— Stone-Chat, ( Saxicola rubicola. (Bechsiein.) 

or Moor-Titliiig, ( Motadlla rubicola. (Ltft.) 

Remains with us the whole year ; numerous along the sea 
coast. E. M. 

Sp. 36.-^Whin-Chat, ^ Saxicola rubetra. (BeckHein.) 

or Furze-Chat, C Motadlla rubetra. ildn.) 

Is not SO numerous as the former, and disappears in winter* 
A pair in Mr. Drew's collection. 

Sp. 87. — Whbatbar, rSaxicola eenanthe. (Beckstein.) 

or White-rump, -{ Motadlla enaothe. f linj 
or Eng^lish Ortola, L 

Common in sununer ; migrates in winter. Montagu observes 
that it is by no means common in Devon or Cornwall in the 
breeding season : in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, however, 
the are exceedingly numerous ; particularly along the water 
side, by the Plynu>uth Embankment, Mount Batten, and the 
banks of the Tamar. — E. M. 

Subg.— (The Redbreasts.) 
Sp. 38. — ^Redbreast, \ Sylvia rubecula. (LatK) 

i Motadlla nibecula. (Lin.) 
Common. 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 303 

Sp« 39, — ^Rbd-start, ^ Sylvia phoenicurus. (Lath.) 
or Red-tail, ^ Motacilla phcenicunu. (lAnJ 

Rather rare; appears here in the summer; has been often 
seen at Leigham, 

Subg,^(The Fauvettes.) 
Sp, 40, — NioiiTiNGALE, f Curruca luscinia. f Shaw, J 

< Motaclilfl lusdiiJa, (Gtn.J 
tSylTia luscinia. (laik.J 

This biTtl is found as far north as Sweden, anil emigfrates iit 
winter to Egypt and Syria. — (r^em,) It m frequent in ttie 
centra) parts of England in summer, but rarely seen in Devon- 
shire; Is occasionally noticed near Exeter; and Montagu 
heard it once on the 4th May, 1806, near Kingsbridge, Devon. 
(Orm Diet, Snp-) 

Sp, 41.^ — Reed Wren, r Cui¥uca arundincea, (Shmc.) 

or Reed Warbler, \ MotacHla « (Lin J 

X, SylTia a (iMk.) 

Very rare ; seldom seen farther west thtin Somersetabire ; 
but is marked a Devon bird, in Carrii^ton's Dartmoor, 

42, — Sedge Warbleh, fCurruca salicaria. (Skaw^} 

or Sodge Bird, v Motacilk saU;^anEiL* {Li a. J 

VSylvIa phragTnUia, iBi>chttein.) 

Distinguished from the Reed Wren, by having a white 
Rtreak over the eye : visits us in summer* I have one, shot 
in May. E, 31. 

43. — Grasshopper WARnLER^rCurrnea locusteHa« (Shaw*) 

or Graishopper Lark, < Motudlla nvtf Ia« (Gm.J 

J^ Sylvia locustoUa. f Tern J 

Found, though rarely, in the south of Devon. (MmtaguJ) 
Specimens are in possession of the Rev, Mr* Vaughan, and 
of Mr, Gosling, of Leigham. 

Sp. 44. — The Black CAP,/Curruca atricapilla, (ShattK) 

orMockNi^btlnffale, LMotadlU atricapilla- {Lin.} 

Arrives in j^prilj and departs in September: is not uncom- 



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304 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

mon ; frequents woods and gardens ; a specimen in Drew's 
collection — the head of the female is rust colour. 

Sp. 45. — The Pettychaps, ^ Curruca Orphea. (Tern.) 

or Fauvette, ^ SylTia hortensis. (Beehstein.) 

Frequents our woods; arrives in April, and sometimes 
remains to October — it is considered rare ; but Montagu found 
them on the banks of the Avon; and I have shot it in Bick- 
leigh vale, near Plymouth ; a specimen is also in Mr. Rowe's 
collection. £. M. 

Sp. 46.— The White Throat, < Curruca Sylvia. fSkaw.) 

or Nettle Creeper, 5 Syl?ia einerea. Lin. 

Very common ; arrives in April, and departs in Sept. £. M. 






Sp. 47. — ^Dartford WARBLER,rCurruca ferruginea. Cuvierf 

I Sylvia ferrugiDea.-»Roiix. 

I Sylvia Dartfordiensis.— La£Aam. 

^Melizophilus Dartfordiensis. Leack, 

Stated by Montagu to be by no means uncommon in the 
south of Devon, where it continues the whole year. (Lin, 
Trans.) It frequents furze-brakes; is found in Bickleigh vale, 
(R. Julian, esq.) and I have seen it in the neighbourhood of 
Withy-hedge, Plymouth — one in Mr. Drew's collection. 

Subg^. — (The Hedge Sparrows.) 

Sp. 48. — ^Hedgb Warblbr, ( Accentor modularis. Becks. 
or Hedg^e Sparrow, 5 Motacilla modalaris* 

Very conunon all the year. 

Subg.— (The Gold-crests.) 
Sp. 49. — GoldcrestedWren ( Regulus vulgaris. — (Shaw.) 

5 Motacilla regulos.^Liii. 

Common among the fir-plantations all the year. E. M. 
Sp. 50. — ^Yellow Wren, rRegulus trochilus. (Shaw.) 

Willow Wren, or < MotadUa trochilus. Un. 
Ground Wren, ^ 

Common ; arrives in April^ and departs in September. £• M. 



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OF TAB SOtJTH OF DEVOK. 305 

Sp4 61.— -lissBB Pbttychaps, fRegulus ■ (CWv.) 

' orCMff-Cbafl; ^ Motadlla hypolais. (BecktUin.) 

I^SylTia hypoUis. (JLotAaw.) 

Common from April to October; it has been occasionally 
known to remain with us through the winter. 

Sp. 6^,— Wood Wbbn, rR^uIus (Cuv.) 

<{ MotadlU ribUatrU. (Gmii.) 
tSylTiasibUatrix. (Laik.) 

Frequents our woods ; arrives in April and departs in Octo- 
ber. E. M. 

Sul^.— (The Wrens.) 

Sp. &3.— Comioil WbbNi ( Troglodytes Europeeus. Shaw. 

I MotacUla troglodytes. (X<iiv> 

Common; a white variety in possession of I. Comyns, esq. 
another in the British Museum. E. M. 

Snbg. (The Didiwashers.) 
Sp. &4.«— Whitb Wag«tail.— Motacilla alba. (Lin.) 

Common all the year; but I have noticed them in flocks 
about August, after which their number is considerably les- 
sened, and possibly some of them might migrate. E. M. 

Subg.— (The Wag.tails.) 
Sp. 66.— SuMMEB WAG«TAiL,/Budytes ' — (Cuv.) 

or Yellow Weg>-tiil, LMoUciUa flava. (LtfiO 

Common in summer only ; on the l&th August, 1828, immense 
flocks of them appeared along this coast, feeding on the sea 
shores, and they remained in the neighbourhood about a fort- 
night, after which no more were seen. E. M. 

Sp. 66.— Obey Wag-tail, jBudytes (CWt?.) 

Winter Wag-tail \Motacaia boamla. (Lfn.) 
These birds appear generally about October : and although 
Montagu observes that he has never been able to find them 
in summer, yet I believe with Dr. Tucker ^ that they occasion- 
ally do breed here; as I have seen a pair in June, in the 
neighbourhood of Bnckland Abbey; and Mr. Gosling, of 

o 



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306 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

Leigham, informs me, he has sometimes found the nest^-tfaej 
remain with us till qpring. E* M. 

Subg.— (The Titlarks or Pipits.) 
Sp, 57.<-*PiPiT Lark, fAnthus arboreus. {Bechstem.} 

Field Xark, S Alanda trivialis. (Lin.) 
Tree Lark, LAlanda minor. (Gm.J 

JUcniagu declares the Pipit to be no other than the common 
Tit-Lark, in its winter pliunage— (Vide Om. Diet. Sup. and 
Appendix;) if so, it is found here — ^but TetmitmcA; considers 
them distinct, from a difference in the claw of the back toe, 
which in this is shorter than the toe, and curved to a quarter 
of a circle; whereas in the Tit-Lark, it is longer and slightly 
arched— he considers it the Field Lark oiLaihom^ sp. 6. 

Sp. &8.— Tit-Lark, jAnthus pratensis. Becks. 

I^Alaudapratensis. (Qm,) 

Common all the year; changes its plumage in winter to 
a more brilliant hue, which has given rise to much confu- 
sion. E. M. 

Sp. 69.— Rock Lark — ^/Ifonra^. TAnthus Aquaticus. Betiis. 

Meadow Lark-— of Latkaim, ^ Alanda petrosa. JAn, TramM. v, 4. 
Dusky Lark— I>friii. ^— Obsoora 

The Rock Lark of M(miagu is common all the year on our 
shores. I have taken Temminck's authority for conmdering it 
to be the same as the Meadow Lark of Laiham.^^9X. A««- 
Syn.4.378.) E.M. 

Fam. 2.— Fissirostrbs. 
Gen.— SWALLOWS. 

Subg.— (The Martlets.) 
Sp. 60.— Swift, \ Cypselus vulgaris. (Stephens..) 

or Black Martin, \ Hirtmdo apvs. (tin.) 

Common; they arrive later and depart earlier than the 
Swallows. 



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OF THE SOUTH OP DEVON. 307 

Subg.— (True Swallows.) 
Sp. 61 .-—House Swallow, < Hirundo urbica. (Lin.) 

or Martin, ^ 

Common ; arrires a little after the Swallow. Mr. White, 
(History of SelboraBj) states that he found some of these birds 
feedijig their young as late as the 29th of September ; and as 
their usual time of departure is the 4tb or 6th of October, he 
conjsiders that the young could not then be strong enough to 
fly, and must remain here; he saw a flock on the 7th of 
November, and one bird on Christ Church Tower, Oxford, 
November 20th, and another on the 20th, I have seen the 
o!d birda feedinn^ their yonng on the 2Chh of September, 1828, 
at Warleigh, near Plymouth; and Iiave been assured by a good 
observer, that M^irtins have frequently been seen flying daring 
mild weather even in the Christmas week, at Plymton. These 
birds build in the hollows of the rocks under Wembury cUfls, 
as well as about the houj§es in thin neighbourhood. E. M. 

Sp, 62, — ^CHiaiNEY Swallow,— Hirundo rustica. (Lin,} 

Common ; arrives about the fir«t week in April, and departs 
usually about the last of September; though there cannot be 
a question but tbat some of tlicm are often found here in wiu^ 
ter in a torpid state, from which Mr. White supposes they 
sometimes revive, from their being seen in December, on a fine 
day by Mr. Mark wick, who observed two on the 8th, Some 
years ago, six or seven of these birds were found torpid, on 
taking down a pile of deal boards, in this town ; — and an 
account of fi^e being found on the 28th of November, 18S6, 
in a torpid state, from which they were recovered by warmth, 
is to be found in the Edinburgh Journal of Science, vol, 16, 
and in vol, 17, p. 291, is recorded a singular feet, vie. that 
Swallows are seen all the year round in the vicinity of the 
furnacas at the Carron Irou-works, Mr. White states that 
these birds alt leave at one and the same time ; but this is not 
always the case, ns I have noticed the departure of successive 



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308 I>R« MOORE ON THE 0RNITH0]/)OT 

flocks on the 11th and 12th of September, 1828; after which^ 
none were seen till the 22nd and 23rd, when another flodL 
depaited; these had been accompanied hj IMartins, Swifl% 
and Sand-Martins, but on the 26th, a fresh flock began aaseni- 
bling on the Leat, near Plymoath, which was composed only 
of Swallows and Martins; and on October the 2nd, these dis- 
appeared, after which only a few stragglers w^re seen, on the 
4th and 6th, It has long been questioned where the Swallows 
roost at night, after leaving their nests ;— Mr. White observes 
that he noticed them settling in the willow«beds of the Thames. 
It appears also that they sometimes settle among the heaths, as 
Mr. R, Julian informs me that he once observed them about 
dusk, on riding over a down near Plymouth; an immoise 
flock rushed by him, flying low, and not uttering a twitter, 
and at length setded in the low brudiwood of a plantatiim. 
A white variety is in the collection of Mr. Comyns. E. M. 

Sp, 63.— Sand Mabtin, fHirundo riparia. (Lin.) 

Btnk Martin, *{ 
Shore Bird, I. 

Common ; arrive about the second week in April, and have 
been sometimes seen as late as the Ifilh of November. They 
build in the sandy headlands at Thurlstone diflb, and also on 
the banks of rivers; during the breeding season they are very 
shy. I fired at one of them in June 182^ as it was leaving its 
nest on the banks of the Plym» near Leigham; and though 
there were many nests in the place, the whole flock forsook 
the spot, and did not return for that season, E* M* 

Geo.— THE GOAT-SUCKERS. 
64«~CoMMON GoATSUCKBR,/Caprimulgus Europeeus. Zts. 

or Nighl-jtr, 1 

Not uncommon ; appears about the first week in May, and 
departs in October ; yet in mild seasons they are seen later. 
Montagu speaks of one he shot near Kingsbridge, November 
8tb, 1805, and I saw a pair in an orchard, hear Somth Milton, 



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OF THB gOUim OP DBVON. 309 

NoTember lOCh, 1826. They are not uncommon about Slade, 
from whence I obtained a pair^ shot by Capt. Pode. Mr* 
Comyns has one, with the neck, wing-spot, and tail white. 

E-M. 

FanL 1. — CoKiaosTttEs. 

Gen,— tARKS. 

Sp. 65,— SET«*LAEK«^^-Alfiuda arrenBis* fLin^J 

Common all the year ; a white variety is in the possession 
of Mr, PrideauXf of Plymouth. E. M, 

The Crc6ted Lark, or Alaoda crmtata cf authors, is es^ 
teemed by English writera to be the same as this bird, for 
as the SkyoLark occasionally erects its crefit^ it has been sup^ 
posed to have given rise to a miatnke in the /^peci^ ; however, 
Cornier and Temminck coufiider there is a distinct species^ and 
the latter author holds it synonimous with the Crested and 
Undated Lark of Latham, and with la Coquillade of Bufibn, 

Sp. 66, — Wood LAEK,/AIauda arborea, (Lin*) 

Lesser crested Larkt \ — ■»■ nemorosn. (Gmn^J 
Common all the year ; often seen to pairs in winter : it ha^ 
long feathers on the hesd capable of being erected into a cr^t ; 
and is, according to Temminckp the same as the Lesser crested 
Lark of Latham ; AJauda nemort^a of Gmelin* £. M, 

G«i-— THE TITMICE. 
Sub^,— (True Titmice.) 
Sp, 67*— Gee AT Titmouse.— Parus major, (Lm.) 
Common all the year* E. M. 

Sp. 68* — GoLEHOUse, JParusater. (Lin^) 

or Cule Tltroause, I 

Common all the year. E. M, 

Sp. 69.— Marsh Titmouse*— Parus palustris. (hin*) 
CommoQ all the year. £* M, 



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310 ^^* MOORE ON THE ORNTTHOLOGT 

Sp. 70.-^Blue Titmovsb.— -Parus cseruleiis. (Liiu) 
Common all the year. E. M. 

Sp. 71. — Long-tailed TiTMousE.-^Panis caudatos. (Lin*) 
Common all the year* E* M. 

Sobg.— (The Bearded Titmice.) 
72. — Bearded TiTiiousEy/Pariis Biarmicus. (£m.) 

LCalamophllas biamiicos. (LeaehJ 
Rare ; I am informed by Mr. Comyns, that the Bearded 
Titmouse is to be fband in the willow beds opposite Topsham, 
on the Exe river — a specimen in the collection of C. Tripe, 
esq. Deronport. 

Gen.— THE BUNTINGS. 

Sp. 73.— Yellow Bunting, /Emberiza Citrmella. (Xtn.) 

or Yellow Hammer, L 

Very common all the year. . E. M. 

Sp. 74. — CiRL Bunting. — Emberiza Cirlos. (Lin.) 

Not uncommon tfaron^hout the south of DcTon, but particn* 
larly about Kingsbridge, where it was first discor^red to be 
a British bird by Col. Montagu, in 1800. 

Sp. 75. — ^Reed BuNTiNGy/Emberiza Schoeniculus. (Xtn.) 

Reed Sparrow. L 

Not uncommon. E. M. 

Sp. 76. — Common Bunting.— -Emberiza miliaria. (Xtn.) 
Very common. E. M. 

Sp. 77. — SNOW-BuNTiNG^/Plectrophanes nivalis. (Meyer) 

LEmberiza Diyalis. (Ltti.) 

Very rare ; sometimes found on Dartmoor. (CarrmgtoiCs 
" Dartmoor.) The Tawny Bunting (Em. mustelina,) and Moun- 
tain Bunting (£m, montana,) are considered by Cuvier to be 



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OF THE SOUTH OP DEVON. 811 

the same as the Snow Bunting in different states of plumage. 
Temmmck says that they are the young ; — CapU Sabwe is of a 
similar opinion, (Linnean Transactions, vol. 12.) Montagu 
however maintains them to be distinct; and although he allows 
he ^^has less scruple in considering the possibility of the Snow 
and|Tawny Buntings being of the same species, yet he cannot 
admit so much in regard to the Mountain Bunting, or Lesser 
Brambling/' (See Om. Diet. sup. Appendix.) Mr. Stephens 
follows on the same side of the question. (See Shaw's Zoology, 
Tol. 9.) I shall therefore consider the point not fully estab- 
lished, and pass on to the Tawny Bunting, supposing it for 
the present to be distinct, 

Sp. 78. — Tawny Bunting, ^ Emberiza mustalina. (Omn.) 
or Greater Brambling, \ glactalis. (Lath,) 

Not uncommon in hard winters in the south of Devon, ac- 
cording to Maniagtff who speaks of one diot near the Start, 
October 20th, 180S; and of another caught in a net, near 
Plymouth, in 1807. 

Gen.— THE SPARROWS. 
Subg. — (True Sparrows.) 
Sp. 79.— HoxrsB Sparrow, J Pyrgita (Cuv.J 

( Fnogilla domestica. (Un.) 
Common; Mr. Comyns has a white variety, shot at Thor- 
yerton, Devon. 

Subg.— (The Fmches.) 

Sp. 80«— The Chaffinch.— Fringilla coelebs. (Lin.) 
Common. £• M, 

Sp. 81.— Thb Bramblino, $ Fringilla montifringilla. (Lin) 
Moimliia ffiDch, ^ 

Rare; but occasionally obtained here in winter. A specimen 
in Mr. Rowe's collection. 



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t P' ^^— r^^^^^^iP^^E - ^ ■■V>B!^-^ 



*•■■<• 



312 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOOir 

Subg.— (The Ctoldfinclies.) 

Sp« 82«'^GoLDPiNCH,cCardueIis el^^s* St€ph4 
or'nii8Uefiiieh,;{FriiigilUcardaeiiB. {Un.) 

Very common. E. M« 

Sabg. — (The LiimeU.) 

Sp. 8d«— Lessbr RBi>POLE, \ Linaria rubra. Becks. 

^FringUUlinarU. (Lfo.) 

Ratl^er rare $ only seen in winter, in flocks about alder tree& 

Sp. 84. — GEBAtBB ReHPOLB, fLinaria cannabina* Bech$4 
or Common Lionet, "i Fringttla eannabina. (Idn,J 
t ■linota, (lAn.) 

Conunon ; the common Brown Lifinet is the young of the 
Greater Redpole: and its plumage does not attain the mature 
state for two or three years, and not at all if kept in confine* 
ment. Mr. Comyns hius a variety with the head white. E.M. 

Sp. 85.— The Twite, ^Linaria (Cuv.) 

or HoonUiin Unnot, ^ Fringilla montium. (L<».) 
Has been found in Devon, according to Polwhele. 

Sp. 86. — Siskin, S Linaria Cuvier. 

or Abenrine, ^Fringilla spinas. (Lfo.) 

Subg.— (The Gros-beaks.) 

Rare ; sometimes obtained here in winter. MatOaffUBaw a 

small flock in December, 1805; one was shot near Plymouth, 

by R. Julian, esq. Two specimens are in Bolitho's coUecticm, 

Devonport. 

Sp. 87.~C!oicicoN GEOS-BEAK,/Coccothraustes vulgaris. S. 
or Hawflncht LLoxia coccothranstes. (Lin.) 

Rare; visits England in autumn, and departs in Aprfl; a 
specimen in Drew's collection, was shot at Mount Edgcumbe* 
Mr. Rowe has another. 

Sp.88.— Oeeen GE08-BBAK,rCoccothraustes chloris. <Slr. 

Green Finch, or 'i Lozla chloris. (Um.J 
(ireen Linnet, i 

Common; congr^^tes in winter. E. M. 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DfiVON. 

Subg.~(The Bulfinches.) 
Sp« 89«— The Bulfinch, ^ Pyrrhula Europcea. (Stephens.) 

or Hoop, S Loxia pyrrhula. (lAn.) 

Common all the year ; Mr. Comyns has a variety quite 
black, and another entirely white, except the breast, which is 
roseate. E. M. 

Gen.— THE CROSSBILLS. 
Sp. 90 — ^Crossbill. rjLoxia corvirostnu (Ltn.) 

or Shell-apple, L 

Rather rare ; arrive generally in winter ; formerly were nu- 
merous, but now only occasional small flocks are seen, and in 
some seasons, none at all. A few years ago, a male was shot 
in a garden in Plymouth, feeding on the berries of the moun- 
tain ash — specimens in Drew's collection, and at Ham. 

Gen.— THE STARLINGS. 

Sp. 91. — Common Starling. — Sturnus vulgaris (£tji.) 

Common here in winter ; arriving in flocks in October, and 
depart in spring, but some of them have been known to breed 
at Haldon, the seat of Sir Lawrence Palk ; in the spring, the 
old birds have a yellow bill, and legs of a brown flesh colour. 
Temmmck. They leave France in winter. Cupier. Mr. Comyns 
has a specimen entirely white. E. M. 

GeD.— THE CROWS. 
Subg. — (True Crows.) 
Sp. 92. — The Raven. — Corvus corax. {Lin.) 

Common ; builds on ottr rocky coasts ; a specimen in Drew's 
collection^ shot at Saltram. It may be easily tamed when 
young, and will descend at the call of its keeper, when flying 
in the air ; one of this kind is now in possession of a gentleman 
at the Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth. 

Sp. 93. — Common Crow. — Corvus corone. (Lin.) 
Common; a white variety in Mr. Comyns' collection. 

p p 




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314 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

Sp. 94. — ^RooK. — Corvus frugilegus. (Zut.) 

Common; some of these birds have long established their 
nests on some trees, nearly in the centre of Plymouth. Mr. 
Comyns has one entirely white, except the scapulars. 

Sp. 95. — Hooded or Rotston Crow. — Corvus comix. (Lin.) 

Common about our coasts in winter, from October to April. 
A specimen in Mr. Rowe's collection. 

Sp. 96. — Jackdaw or Chough. — Corvus monedula. (Lm.) 

Common all the year; builds in our church towers, and 
along the sea cliffs, among the Gulls; thus at Bovisand bay, 
Wembury cliffs, and Plymton St. Mary tower. Mr. Comyns 
has one entirely white. E. M. 

Subg.— (The Pies.) 

Sp. 97.— The MAopiB,/Pica Europsea. (Stephens.) 

\Coms pica. {Lin,) 

Conunon ; Drew's collection. A white variety is in pos- 
session of Mr. Comyns. 

Subg.— (The Jays.) 

Sp. 98. — The JAY,/Garrulus glandarius. (Stephens.) 

\Cor?ii8 glandarius. (lin.) 

Conunon. E. M. 

Fam. 4. — ^Tenuirostbss. 
Gen.— THE NUTHATCHES. 
Sp. 99. — Thb Nuthatch.— Sitta Europaea. (Lm.) 
Common all the year in woody situations. E. M. 

Gen.— THE CREEPERS. 

Subg. — (True Creepers.) 
Sp. 100. — Common Creepbrs. — Certhia fomiliaris. (lAn.J 
Not uncommon in our woods all the year. E. M. 



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OP THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 316 

Gen.— THE HOOPOES. 

Subg.— (The Choughs.) 
Sp. 101* — Red- LEGGED Crow, S Freg^ilas gracuhis- Stepft. 

or CornisK Crow^ ( Corpus gmculus. {Lin.) 

Fan lid on the coast of Carnwall all the year, but only occa- 
**ioiiiilIy seen on our shores; three specimens in Drew's 
coUectJon. E, M^ 

Subg. — (The Hoopoes,) 
Sp, 102. — ^TiiE Hoopoe. — Upupa epops, (Lin,) 

This beautiful bird is uot uu frequently met with in Devon- 
shire^ and generally iu autumn , though Mr. White, (Selborne) 
says that a pair unce appeared there in the spring ; one was 
shot at Warleigh, a few years si nee » another in Sept* 182S, 
on Kenton warren, which is in possession of J. Coinyns, esq, 
and two killed about the same time at Brideetow, near Dart^ 
moor, are in the collection of J* Newton, esq. of that place — 
another was shot near Ediriburght at the same time. In the 
year 1827, a flock of them was seen at Saltrara, by the 
Earl of Morley's gamekeeper, of whichj two were shot — 
specimens in the collections at Ham, and those of Mr. Howe, 
and Mr. Drew. 

Gen,— THE BEE-EATERS. 

Sp. 103. — The Common Bee-eater, — Merops apiaster, Lin, 

This bird is common in Spain and Portug^l^ but occasion- 
ally obtained here in spring and summer, during their migra- 
tion, as they are not known to breed here. The first specimen 
noticed was shot in July, 1794, in Norfolk; and a flight of 
twenty was seen in June, and again in October. (Linnean 
Transactions^ vol, 3.) In April, 1818, a fine specimen was 
shot at Leigham, by Mr. T, E. Goslingi another in 1822 near 
Ivy-hridge, A flock of eleven were seen near Helstone, in 
Cornwall, in 1828, and were all captured. (See Plymouth 
Herald, June 7th, 1828,) One of these is in the museum of 
the Plymouth Athemeumj presented by G* S, Borlase^ esq, — a 
«!ipecimeu also iu Mr* Howe's collection. 



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316 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHMXKIT 

Goi.— (THE KING-nSHERS.) 

Sp. 104. — Common Kino-fisher. — ^Alcedo ispida. (Xtn.) 

Common all the year on the borders of onr rivers ; in winter 
they frequent the sea shores, feeding among the sea weeds, on 
the retreat of the tide. E. M. 

Order 8.— THE CLIMBERS. 
Gen.— THE WOODPECKERS. 

Sp. 105.— Great BlackWoodpecker.— Picas marthis. Lm. 

Very rare; said by Latham to have been found in Devcm- 
shire, though some doubts have been started on the subject. 
(See Montagu Om. Diet) 

Sp. 106. — Green Woodpecker. — ^Picus viridis. (Lin.) 
Common all the year; frequently brought to market E. M. 

Sp. 107. — Greater spotted WoonPECKER.^-Picus major. £. 

Rather rare; Cuvier and Temminckhave still described this 
and the P. medius of LhmetUf as distinct ; there is no doubt, 
however, but they are the same, as the nest of P. major was 
obtained by Lord Stanley, and the young birds answered the 
description of P. medius: (See Montagu O. D. Supplement:) 
specimens in collections of Mr. Rowe and Mr. Drew. 

Sp.l06. — Lesser spottedWoodpecker. — ^Picus minor. Lin. 

Rare; this bird is occasionally obtained from the neigh- 
bourhood of Oakhampton ; a specimen from that place, in Mr. 
Drew^s collection. 

Gen— (THE WRYNECKS.) 

Sp. 109.— The Wryneck. — ^Yunx torquilla. Lm. 
Rather rare ; arrives here in summer only ; is not uncom- 
mon in the neighbourhood of Dawlish, according to Mr Comyns, 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 317 

at whose residence I saw two fresh specimens in May, 1829 ; 
a specimen at Ham, was obtained near Plymouth, 

Gen,— THE CUCKOWS. 

Sp. 110, — ^CoHMON CtjCKOW, — Cuculus canofus, fLhuJ 

Cummon \ arrives in Aprils remains till the first week in 
July ; thoug^h the young have been occasioDally seen as late 
as September, E* M, 

Order 4.— GALLINACEOUS BIRDS- 

G«n.— THE PHEASANTS, 

Sub^. — (Tnie Pheasants.) 

Sp. 111.^ — CoMMoKPtfeASANTs,— Phasianuscolchicus. fLmJ 

Common ; it is not known when these birds were introduced 
into England ; but they are now abundant, and full broods are 
often fonnd wild in our neighbourhood; the female not un- 
frequently assumes the ptumag^e of the male, even in a wild 
state ; an instance occurred at Leigbain, an account of which 
was published by Dr. J^ Butter ^ of Plymouth, in theWernerian 
Transactions, Montagu suspected it to arise from some change 
in the oviduct^ and on dissection of one specimen found it 
obstructed. Mr^ Yarrell^ (Phil » Trans. 1827^) has shewn this 
to be true, and moreover, that the change may at any time be 
produced by obliterating that passage. Hybrids between the 
Pheasant and domestic Fowl have sometimes been noticed ; an 
iustance is mentioned by the Rev. Mr, White, (Naturalist's 
Calendar, 1795,) The Hon, George Herbert shot three of the 
kind in 1811, in the woods of Norfolk. {Montagu.) A living 
specimen is now in possession of Mr. Kelly^ solicitor, of this 
town, obtained from a male Pheasant and common Hen, in a 
state of confinement; in its figure and general appearance, 
it approaches mostly the character of the Pheasant, 



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318 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

Hybrids between the Pheasant and Heath Grous, have been 
attempted, unsuccessfully, to be produced by the late Lord 
Carnarvon, according to Montagu; that such does, however, 
occur in nature, is now verified, since in this year (Sept. 1829,) 
oneof this kind has been shot at Whidey, by the Rev. Mr. 
Morshead. A male Pheasant, female Grous, and one young-, 
had been observed for some time in company ; Mr. M. shot 
the Pheasant, and in a few days the young one, but the Grous 
escaped : — ^the young bird bears the marks of both parents, 
but the most prominent characters resemble the Grous ; it dif- 
fers however, from it in many points ; the space above the eye 
is not bare on the upper lid as ifi the Grous, but that part is 
entirely feathered ; the whole of the neck is covered with 
black feathers, somewhat mottled ; the tail, instead of bebg 
somewhat forked, as in the female Grous, is fan-«haped, and 
half as long as in the Pheasant, the tarsi are not feathered, but 
bare, as in the Pheasant : — ^the colour is generally (except the 
neck) that of the Grous, and it has, also, the white spot on the 
shoulders. 

The Ring Pheasant is a variety ; of which I possess a speci- 
men. £. M. 

Gen.— THE GROUS. 
Sp. 112. — Black Grous, rTetrao tetrix. (Imi.) 

Black Cock, or < 
Black Game. (. 

Not uncommon ; formerly very numerous on Dartmoor and 
Exmoor ; at present they are more scarce, though still pre- 
served by Albany Saville, esq. near Oakhampton, they range 
over most of the woods in South Devon, in winter; specimens 
are in possession of Mr. R, Julian, Mr. Rowe and myself. 
E.M. 

Gen.— THE PARTRIDGES. 

Subg. — (True Partridges.) 
Sp. 113. — Common Partridge, ^ Perdix cinerea. Stephens. 

( Tetrao cinereus. (Lin J 
Common all the year. £. M. 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 819 

Gim,— THE QiAILS. 
Sp. 114. — Common Quail, S Cuturuix dactyl isonaa^. Stejth. 

Not iiticonimoit; thb k a bird of passu *^e, and usually I'o- 
mams with us in small numbersj during tbe summer ordy, 
departing about October; but in the severe weather of Janu- 
ary, 1630, I purchased one in Plymouth mnrketj proving 
that some may remain all the year; 5Ir. Corny ng, Mn Julian, 
and Mr» Rowej have specimens also. 

Gen,— THE PIGEONS. 
Sp, 115, — RiKG Dove, rColumba Palumbus, fLinJ 

Ring Pigl^on, "\ 
Wood PlTuon, L 

Indigenous in England, congregates in winter; common 
here. £, M. 

Sp. 116. — Stock Dove, J Culumba teims. (Lin.j 

or WUd Dove, I 

Rather rare; appears in the south of England in flocks in 
winter. All attempts to domesticate these birds have failed; 
it was supposed that all the varieties of the Domestic Pigeon 
were derived from this bird, which by Montagu and others is 
considered to be the same as the C* Hvia, or Rock Dove; but 
Cuvier and Temminck consider ihera as distinct. 

Sp, 117, — Rock Dovb, J Columba livia. (Brhsm,) 

BlHset Pigeon, \ 

Rare ; I am informed by Mr* T. E, Gosling, that this bird m 
found in a wdd state on the south coast of Devon; and 
Poiwhele * states that it exists on the north coast^ near Combe 
Martin, and at Limdy island. This ia the true progenitor of 
our Domestic Pigeons ; it is distingubbed from the former by 
this circmustance, as well as by being white on the rumpi (old 

" Hbtory of DeYous)iir<^t ToL L 



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320 I>^« MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

and young ;) the fonner were ash-coloured on that part. In 
the domestic state it is common. 

Sp, 118. — Turtle DovB,/CoIumba turtur. (iMk.) 

or Common Turtle, \ 
Rare; visits us sometimes in summer only ; a specimen was 
shot on Estover lawn, in June, 1829, by R. Julian, esq* Others 
are in Mr. Comyns', in Mr. Drew's, and Mr. Rowe's coUectioDS. 

Orders.— THE WADERS. 
Fam. 1. — Bbbvipbnnes. 

Fam. 2.-- PBB88IB08TRB8. 

Gen.— THE BUSTARDS. 

Sp. 119.-^RBAT Bustard. — Otis tarda. (Im.) 

Now become very scarce ; Montagu states that a specimen 
was shot near Plymouth in the winter of 1798, and two others, 
the following year ; in 1804 another was taken to Plymouth 
market. 

Sp. 120. — Little Bustard, /Otis tetrax. (JAn.) 

\Tetrax eampestrls. (ZeaekJ 

Very rare ; MatUagu speaks of one shot in December, 1804, 
and taken to Plymouth market, where it was sold as a Heath 
Fowl. He saw one in a turnip field in October, 1810, in 
Devonshire. 

Gen.— THE PLOVERS. 

Snbg.— (The Thick-knees.) 

Sp. 12L — CohmonThick-kneb, r^dicnemus crepitans. Tern. 

Thiek-kneed Bustard, < Charadrias ndiciiemos. (X<fi^ 

Norfolk Plover. (. 

Rather uncommon ; arrives here in spring, and leaves us in 
October. Montagu says, it is not frequent so far westward as 
Devonshire ; but in the mild winter of 1807, two were shot near 
the Start, in February; and in the winter of 1826,onEie was shot 
near Plymouth, and is now in Drew's collection ; one is atMr. 
Rowe's, and another in the collection at Ham. 



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OP THB SOUTH OF DBYON. 321 

Stibg.-^(Tlie Tnie Ficnrars.) 

Sp. 122. — Golden Plover. — Charadrius pluvialis. (Lkn.) 

Commoii; remains with us all the year. A brood of six 
was obtained on the banks of the Tamar, in 1827; and two 
young w«re found on Roborough down, in« 1829, and are now 
in possession of Bfr. J. Whipple, of Ply moudu Great numbers 
are sold in Plymouth market, in winter. E. M. 

Sp. 123. — ^Thb Dottrel, /Charadrius morinellus. (Im.) 
or Lfttte Plof er, \ 

Bare ; frequents the moors in April and June, aud again in 
September and November, but it is not known if it breeds in 
tiiis district. Several were seen on Dartmoor in September, 
1828, by the Rev. S. Rowe ; a specimen is in Mr. J. B. Rowe's 
possession. 

Sp. 124. — ^RiNQEB Plover, rCharadrius hiaticula. (Im.) 

Rio; Dottrelv or < 
Sea Lark. (. 

Common; frequent our coasts nil the year, but are much 
more numerous in winter on the sands at the mouths of the 
rivers. In July, 1828, 1 shot several young birds, in company 
with the Purres, on the Plymouth Breakwater. E. M. 

Gen.— THE LAPWINGS, 

Snbg. — (The Lapwing Plovers.) 
Sp. 125. — Grbt Squatarollb, f Squatarola grisea. (Steph.) 

bwist Sandpiper, or j Tringa squatarola. (IA%,J 

Grey Plover. ^ 

- Rare: found in winter, and departs early in the spring. 
Specimens at Drew's. E. M. 

Snbg. — (True Lapwings.) 
Sp. 126.<*4!:! BESTED LAPWiNG,/yanellus gavia. {Steph.) 

or PeewiU tTrioga TaneUas. (LUi.) 

Common all the year; cong^egfates in winter, when great 
numbers are sent to the Plymouth market. E. M. 



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322 DR- MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGT 

Gen.— THE OYSTER-CATCHERS. 
Sp. 127. — ^The OYSTBR-GATCHER^/Hsematopus estralegiis. L. 

or Sea-Pie \ 

Not uncommon near the sea shored in snoiall flocks, in winter* 
I possess one with a white ring on the neck; Mr, Comynsand 
Mr. Drew have specimens. E. M. 

Fam. 3. — Cultbibostrbs. 

Tbibb I.— cranes. 

Sp. 128. — Common CEANE,/Gras dnerea* {Be^Aitem.} 

l^Ardea gnis. C^nJ 

Very rare; formerly Cranes abounded in this country. Bay 
in his Synopsis, p. 95, says, ** In palustribns Lincolniensibua, 
et Cantabrig^'ensibus magni horum greges, hybemo tempore 
inveniuntur.'' But for the last sixty years, only four speci- 
mens haye been procured, the most recent of which was a fine 
male, shot in the parish of Buckland Monachorum, near Ply- 
mouth, in September, 1826, which is now preserved in Drew^s 
collection. 

Tbibb %^HER0NS. 
Sp. 129. — Common Hbron. — Ardea cinerea. ^Lm.^ 

Herons were formerly very numerous, and are still preserved 
in this county in Heronries at Sharpham, on the Dart, and also 
at Warleigb, near Plymouth, the seat of the Rev. Walter 
RadclifTe, to whom I am indebted for a specimen. E. Bf. 

Sp. 130. — Crested purple Heron, ^ Ardea purpurea. Gwu 

Rufous Heron, r ■ rufus. fLaik,) 

Greater Bittern, s ■ BoUnrai. fOm,) 

African Heron, C Africana. (Lath,) 

Purple Heron, \ purporata. fChnJ 

The latter named birds are all different states of the Parple 
Heron, (Cuvier ;) it is very rare, only four or five have been 
killed in England. The Ardea Caspica, variegata, and Afri- 
cana, are, according to Tewminck^ the young of this bird, in 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 323 

which plumage it was seen on the banks of the Plym, in 
April, 1824, by Mr. T. E. Gosling, of Leigham. 

Sp, 131. — Little HERON,'^Ar(iea minuta. (Lin.) 

Bittern, f Botaurua rufo^. (Brisson,) 

Rufous Bittern, or i 
Rayed Bittern, ) 

y^y rare ; three of these birds, a female and two males, 
were shot in Deronshire, in 1808, near Creditou, two of which 
are in the collection of Mr. Comyns. The Rufous and Rayed 
Bittern of Latham are the young. Temminck. 

Sp. 132. — Freckled Heron. — Ardea lentiginosa. (Mm.) 

A drawing of this bird is given by MoiUagu^ in the Supple- 
ment to the Ornithological Dictionary ; it was shot in 1804. 
A specimen exactly corresponding to his description was shqt 
at Motbecombe, near Plymouth, December 22nd, 1829, and 
psesented to me by John Nichols Hawker, esq. of Rock ; it is 
smaller than the Conunon Bittern, but does not answer the 
description of the Little Heron ; I suspect it to be the young 
of the Conunon Bittern. E. M. 

Sp. 133. — Great White Heron, ^ Ardea alba. (Gm.) 

or Great Egret, I eg^retta. (Gm,) 

The A. alba is, according to Temminckf the young of the A. 
egretta. One of this species was seen on the banks of the 
Avon, in the south of Devon, in company with several of the 
conunon species, by the Rev. Mr. Vaughan. (See Montagu 
Om. Diet. Sup.) 

Sp. 134. — ^Little White Heron, S Ardea aequinoctialis. Lot. 

or Red-billed Heron. ( 

This bird is marked by Cuvier as the young of the A. cerun 
lea, A specimen was shot near Kingsbridge^ in October, 1805, 
which was described Jby Montagu^ and is now in the British 
Museum, where it was examined by Temminck^ who acknow- 



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3^ DR. MOORE ON THE <mNITHeiX>6Y 

ledges it to be the Little White Heron, bat does not doubt that 
it had escaped from some menagerie, as it is not understood to 
be even a European bird. (Manuel d'Ornithologie^ ed. 2, 
p. 665.) 

Sabg.— (Hie Bitterns.! 

Sp. 136u — Gebat BiTTBBK.— Ardea stellaris, (Im.) 

Rather uncommon in England ; it has been shot at Warleigh, 
and in January, 1829, several were obtained on the riw 
Tamar. A specimen in Mr. Rowe's, and in Drew's collection. 
Mr. Comyns has two, procured on the Exe in May. On the 
17th of December, 1829, a fine specimen alighted on the 
roadside, as a butcher's boy was riding along a lane near 
Newnham, the seat of 6. Strode, esq. which he struck down 
with a whip, and it is now in my possession ; the stomach con- 
tained a trout. E. M. 






Sp. 136. — Night Heron, fArdea nycticorax. 

or GardenUn Heron, "{ ■ garden!. (Qm,) 

- nmeultla. (Frink.) 



Both CwAer and Temminck state the Gardenian to be the 
young of the A. nycticorax, or Night Heron. Mr. Gosh'ng' 
informs me, that a specimen was some time since shot at 
Leigham. 

Snbg.— (The Spoonbills.) 

Sp. 187. — ^Thb White Spoonbill. — ^Platalea leucorodea. Gm. 

fiare ; Mmaagu says it has been seen on our coasts in winter, 
and that two were shot near Kingsbridge, Nov. 1804, and 
March, 1807, which were then in his collection : they were in 
company with the Common Heron. A specimen in posseaBion 
of C. Tripe, esq. Devonport, was shot <m the Tamar; the old 
birds have a flowing crest. Mr. Comyns has one, shot on die 
Exe. 



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OP THE SOUTH OP DBVOK. 825 

Fftm. 4. — LONGIEOSTEES. 

Gen,— THE WOODCOCKS. 
Subg.— (The Ibis.)— Ctfv. 
Sp. 138.— Bat Ibis, fibis ignea. (Stephem.) 

Glofsj msA Ibli fkldneUus. {Tern.) 
Oreenlbis, I Tantalus faldneUus. (Un,) 

Rare; Montagu conjectured the T. falcinelhis ofLhmeus to 
be the state of perfect plumage ; the T. igneus, or Glossy Ibis, 
to be the state adyancing to maturity ; and the T. Tiridis, or 
Green Ibis, to be the young — this idea is confirmed by Tem^ 
mincky with regard to the latter, which he also considers the 
young bird. Three Devonshire specimens are mentioned by 
•WoiUa^v— one shot near Ivybridge, in September, 1805 ; ano- 
ther in October, 1809 ; and the third in 1805, is in Mr Comyns' 
collection. The Rot. Mr. Radcliffe informs me, that one was 
shot near Warleigh, some years ago, and sent to the British 
Museum— « specnnen shot on the Exe, is in Mr. Comyns' 
collection. 

Snbg.— (True Curlews.) 

Sp. 189.— Thb CoicicoH Curlew, ^ Numenius major. Stq^K 

I Soolopax arqwUa. (Lin,) 

Conunon all the year at the mouths of our rivers ; often 
pold in the markets. E. M. 

Sp. 140. — ^Whiicbrbl, ^ Numenius phsopus. (Latham.) 

Not 80 common as the former; visits us in small flocks in 
winter— a specimen in Drew's collection. 

Siibg.— (True Woodcocks.) 

Sp. 141. — ^Woodcock. — Scolopax rusticola. (Ztn.) 

Common ; arrive in October and November, according to 
the mildness of the season; they are sold in the markets in 
great numbers; they occasionally remain all the year, and 



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326 l>^- MOORE ON THB ORNITHOLOGY 

breed on the moors, of which MmUagu mentioiis some install* 
ces. They are sometimes met with of a cream-coloured 
mottled hue, of which one was presented to Montagu by Mr. 
Bulteel, of Fleet; anoAer was purdiased in Exeter market^ 
by Mr. Comyns, who has also a white variety, shot by the 
Hon. Newton Fellowes, at Exmoutfa. E. M. 

Sp. 142. — ^The Snipe. — Scolopax Gallinago. (Lm.) 

Conunon, usually in winter ; but some of them breed here, 
as I saw a brace feeding among the sea weed in June, 1829; 
and Mr. Grosling possesses some eggs, procured in the neigh- 
bourhood of Leigham. E. M. 

Sp. 143. — ^The Great Snipe. — Scolopax major. (JLtii.) 
Rare; has been observed in the south of Devon. (See Mont* 
Om. Diet, sup.) 

Sp. 144. — Jack SNiPE,/Scollopax Gallinnla. (Om). 

or Jadcock. \GaUiiuigo minima. {Siq^ketuJ 

Conmion in winter. E. M. 
Sp. 145. — ^Brown Snipe, fScoIopax grisea. (Om.) 

Red-breasted Snipe, or-i Macroramphus griseos. (Leach.) 
Brown Long-beak. t. 

Montagu describes a bird under the first name shot on the 
coast of Devon, in October; the Scolopax Noveboracensis, or 
Red-breasted Snipe of Pennant ^ (Arctic Zoology,) is the same 
bird in its spring plumage, according to Temmituiky who also 
states that the Red-breasted Snipe of MontagUf (Om. Diet, 
sup.) is a Limosa Ru&, or Red Grodwit, in its spring plumage. 
(See Fedoa pectoralis, in Shaw's Zoology.) 



Subg.— (The Godwits.) 
Sp. 146. — ^Red Godwit, fLimosa rufa. (Brisson.) 

Grey Godwit, > V/»**«« 1 Scolopax lapponica(Gm.)leucopli«a^I«.) 
Common Godwit, J ^^^' ^Fedoa rufc. (Stqi*.) 

Much confusion has arisen regarding this and the following 
bird ; in its winter plumage this is the Common Godwit of 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DfeVON. 827 

Pewumif (B. Z.) and towards springy the old male ehioiges the 
plumage of the neck and breast from ash-colour to deep red, 
when it is the L. Rufa of jBm^oii, and Red Godwit of Buffon^ 
Bewick^ Temmhickj and Stephens, (Shaw's Zoo.) It is occa- 
sionally found here; Drew possesses a specimen in winter, 
and one in summer plumage ; a specimen shot near Sidmouth, 
October, 1828, is in Mr. Comyns' collection; a brood of seven 
was seen on the Tamar, in June, 1828, and four shot. The 
£ed-breasted Snipe of Montagu is this bird in its spring plu- 
mage, (Temmmcky p. 681.) 

Sp.l47. — Black-tailedGodwit fLimosa melanura(Z?Wfer.) 

Lesser Godwit, -{ Scolopaz ngocephala et belgica.L. 
Jadreka Snipe, L limosa. iUn.) 

May be easily distinguished by its tail being always black ; 
the old bird, in winter plumage, is the Jadreka Snipe of 
Latham; in its spring plumage, it is the Red Grodwit of 
LathaMf Pennant^ and Montagu — a specimen is in Drew's 
collection ; and another, shot on the Warren in 1829, in that 
of Mr. Comyns. 

Subg. — (The Sandpipers or Knots.) 
Sp. 148. — ^Ash-coloured Sandpipbr^^ Calidris islandica. St. 

or Knot-Sandpiper. ^-Tringa cinerea, canutos et 

J grisea. (Gm.) 

The Knot of Latham and Pennant, (Brit. Zoo. p. 124,) is 
the old bird in winter plumage; the Dusky, Freckled, South- 
em, and Aberdeen Sand-pipers, are different names for the 
young birds after the first moult. Two of these birds in the 
plumage of the young, were shot on the Tamar, in August, 
•18&8, of which I possess one. E. M. 

Sp. 149. — ^Purple SandpiperI Calidris islandica. (Cuv.J 

Sea Sandpiper, ^Tringa maritima. f BnmnicA.) 

Selninger Sandpiper, J — — nig^ricans. (Mont.) 

Rare ; the young of the first year is the Knot of Pennant, 
(Brit. Zoo. p. 123.) Drew has specunens shot on the Tamar. 



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328 I^K. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLbGT 

Sp. 160— Little Stiht, rCalidris (Cuv.) 

Little Sandpiper, J Trioga TemninoUi. (Lei$ler.) 
Least Snipe, or | ' pnsiUa. BediiMn. 

Brown Sandpiper. |^ 

This bird has been confounded widi the Tringa mimita, or 
Little Dunlin ; it is distinguished from that bird by the bill 
being slightly curved at the point, (only seen in a fresh state,) 
and being brown, instead of black ; tail pointed or cuneiform, 
in the other doubly forked ; tarsus eight lines long, in the 
other ten lines. On comparing the descriptions in Temmmck 
and MontagUj I haye no doubt also but that the T. Temminckti 
and T. pusilla are the same ; — seyeral specimens have been 
obtained in the south of Devon, one is mentioned by Mwdagu. 
Others are in possession of Mr. Tripe and Drew ; they have 
been seen in small flocks of five (ht six on the Lory, near 
Plymouth, in October. 

Subg. — (TheSanderUngs.) 
Sp. 151. — Sandbrlino, rArenaria calidris. (Jlfcy«r.) 

Carwillet, or < Calidris arenaria. — lUistr. 

Ruddy Plover. (.Cliaradrius caUdrls.— Li». 

This bird is distinguished from the Sand-pipers by wanting 
the hind toe; it is said to be conunon on the coasts of England 
in spring and autumn, flocking with the Purres, but with us 
it is very rare; one specimen in possession of Mr. Comyns, 
was shot near Exmouth, in the spring of 1829. 

Sp. 162.— The Purbe, fPelidna variabilis.— ^fepi. 

Donlin, or S Tringa Tarlabilif. — Tmm. 
Red-backed Sandpiper, L dnclns. — h^ 

The identity of the Purre and Dunlin was first establidied 
by Montagu ; the latter is the Purre, in its smmner plumage. 
Great numbers of them appear in the mouths of our rivers, 
about August, and remain through the winter. Prod^ious 
flocks of them roost on the Breakwater, Plymouth, during the 
night; some few remain the sununer, and breed here. They 
are termed Sanderlings by the common people, but the true 
Sanderling is much rarer. E.M. 



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OP TBI BOimi OF DBVON. 329 

Sp. ISS*— THBCAPBCuitiBW^rPelidtiasiibaar^mrta, (Cfw.) 

Bed Sandpiper,-— Pmmi. J Tringa Tern. 

Pygnnay Carlew.— "fiwAt. | Nemephu Afrieairos. Lath, 
K, fjfgmem* Beckt, 

The Cape Curjeir of LtUiam is the Pygmy Coriew of 
Bechiiem; it is described by Montagu^ (Oni. Diet, sup.) uader 
the latt^ name, but the true Pygmy Curlew of Latham is the 
young of the Tringa platyrbyncha of Temminck^ and not the 
Faldnetlus otCwrier^ which is a different bird, and wants the 
hind toe. Mr. Rowe has a bird ccMrr^jponding to Montagues 
deseriptiDn, aad' wUoh^ agrees with the Tringa subarQiotta of 
ef Temmmek Another is in Drew^s collection, who has also 
the Red Slind-|>iper:of P^Mml^ which is the same bird, in its 
spring plumage. 

8uh.*-(The Combatants.) 

.Sp. l&4«-r»Fioiltiiro Rupp,f Matbetes pugnax.— ^Sk^pA. 

V ReiTe (feoMle) |.Trllig« pugaax. — Lin. 

The old nudes acqunre a.ruff of longieathers ^bout die neck 
in the breeding season^ which falls off towards the end of June. 
The female is^ destitute of a ruff; they are scarce in Devon ; 
Montagu had a specimen from Exeter : diey depart in autumn, 
tl|oug^ one was shot cm Stapton Lay, 27t|i Decemb^, 1806; 
One with a white mff was shot on the Avon, May I7th, 1806— 
other Devon specimens are in possession of Mr. Comy ns, Mr. 
Bowe» and Mr. Drew. The Shore Sand^piper is the young 
bird — the Greenwich Sand-piper, and Yellow-l^;ged Sand- 
piper are varieties — the Equestrian Sand-piper is the female in 
winter plmnage. 

Siibg.<^(The Phalarope^) 
'Sp. 155. — GrBET P^ALAltopE, fPhalaropus griseus. Sieph. 

Grey oool-fooied Triiigm,< Tringa lobataw— Lin. 

Red Pbalarope. I^Phalaropm plttyrhinchns. — Tern, 

This'bird is rare in Europe, but we have some specimens-^ 
one in Mr. Rowe's, and one in Mr. Drew's collection. After 
a hard southwest wind on the 6th, 7th, and 8th October,1828, 
a specimen was diot on St. John'fi[ lake, on the Tamar ; another 

R a 



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390 I>R« MOORB ON THE ORNITUOLOOT 

was seen in Sandycore bay ; and a fliird was shot on the Exe, 
about the same time. The Ghrey P. oi Latham and PewMM is 
the young; the Red P. of IjUkam is the spring plumage, 
(Temmmek;) the true Red Phalarope (Lobipes of Cwbkrf) has 
not been found in Devon. 

Subg.— (The Turnstones.) 

Sp. 156. — ^TuRNSTONBy rStrepsilas interpres. (Siq^) 

Sea Dotterel, "{ Trlnga ioterpriA. XUn.) 

Hebrldal Sandpiper, L 

Visits us in August, in its passage south ; I saw a brood od^ 
the Breakwater, in August, and shot the male and one young ; 
specimens also are found in the coUectiona of Mr. Rowe and 
BIr. Drew. £• M. 

Subg.— (The Horsemen.) 

Sp. 157. — Grbbnshank^ fToltnus glottis* (Bedutek.) 
Green-legged Horaeaan,'| Scolopax glottis. (Um^ 
CInereons Oodwit, L 

The Greenshank o( Pennant is the young; in this state it 
visits us sparingly in winter ; specimens beloBg to Mr. Rowe 
and Mr. Drew. 

Sp. I58«-— Spottbd Redshank, TTotanus fuscus. (Lntikr.) 

Dusky Sandpiper, J Soolopax ftisoa. (UmO 

Cambridge Godwit, | 

Spotted Snipe. I. 

Rare ; two have been shot in Devonshire^ (Montagu.) The 
Cambridge Godwit and Courland Snipe are die young, says 
CnxAet^ p. 590; but Temsminck^ who has shot more than fifty, 
declares them to be this bird in winter plumage ; the spotted 
Snipe of iMhom to be the youpg; and die Tringa atra of 
GmeJM, Dusky Snipe and Black-headed Snipe of XalAosi, to 
be the spring dress. 



Sp. 159.— Redshank, rTotanus calidris. J?€cA«« 

Poolsnipe, or < TVinga gambetta^ — 1A%^ 

Gambet Sandpiper. |^ 

Not unconunon on our shores in winter, but probably breeds 
here^ as 1 have a specimen, sent in June, 1S28, shot oa the 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 831 

Warren, by Mr, Tucker, of Mount Pleasant ; another in Dreiv's 
collection. The Striated Sand-piper of Latham^ is the young 
in moult; the Gambet Sandpiper, or Redshank, is the same in 
summer plumage. (Temminck.) E. M. 

Sp. 160.— GasBN Sakdpipeh, J Totenus ochropus. Tern. 

Wood 8uidiilp«r. {Ui^T.j. I.) ( Trlnga ochropus.— Wm. 
Rare; isa wintar bird ; considered by Laiham to the same 
as the T. glareola, or true Wood ^Sand-piper of Lismeusy but 
disproved by Montagu, in which opinion he is followed by 
Teammck, p. 653 ; he speaks of one shot in Devon, in August. 
A specimen is in Drew's collection. E. M. 

Sp. 161.~LoNo-LEGOBi> SANDPiPfia, \ Totanus — Cuv. 

Wood Btndplper.— ( Jlofie.) ^ Triiiga grallalorte.— Wome. 

Very rare ; this bird was considered unknown in England, 
until a specimen shot in August, in Devonshire^ was obtained 
by MmUagu. (Om. Diet. Sup.) 

Sp. 162.— Com M ON Sandpipee, \ Totanus hypoleueos. Tern. 

I Tringa hypoleueos.— fliii J 

Common: visits us in spring, and departs in autumn; fre- 
quents die rivers, and s<mietimes dives when wounded. Mr. 
Rowe's and Drew's collection. E. M. 



Sobg.— (The Tme Waders.) 

Sp. 163.-^Black-winobd Lohoshanks, C Himantopus meku- 

< nopterus. (Mey,) 
Long-legged Plover. ( Charadrlafhlniantopii8.Ii. 

Very rare ; Mr. Comyns has one shot in Devon, and Mr. 
Gosling informs me that a specimen was shot on Slapton Lay. 

Gen.— THE AV0CETTE8. 

Sp. 164. — ^Thb Avocbt.- Recurvirostra avocetta. (lA»i.J 

These birds frequent the mouths of rivers in winter; diey 
have been often seen on the Exe, from which Mr. Comyns 
obtained two specimens; one in possession of Mr. Tripe, was 
shot on the Tamar. 



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^ DR. MOOEE ON THE (HDIITHOLOGY 

FUB* 6. — ^Macbobjlgttlbs. 

Gen.— THE RAILS. 
Sp. 165* — ^Watbr-rail, ^ Rallus aquaticus* (JahJ) 

or Brook OtizeL I ' 

Rather common all the year, particularly in autumn and 
winter, when they are brought to market; specimens in my 
posseBsioDy and in Drew's coUectioiu They are said to be 
migratory on the continent* E. BI, 



Sp. 166. — Land-rail, rRallus crex. (GmeL) 

'Corn Crake, or < Ortygometrft crez. (SUph,) 
Crake OalUnule. L 

Common; spears in April, and departs in October; sold 
' in the markets. E. M. 

Sp. 167.^-Spottbd Crake, fRallns porzana. , ^Lim.J 

^potted GaUinule, -{ Ortygometra porsBvoa. (JSUphoit.) 
Water Crake. L 

Rare; obtained as early as the 14th March, and as late as 
the 23rd Oclober, in Devonshire, but never in winter months, 
(Montagu, Sup.) Two specimens in Mr. Gosling's, and three 
in Drew's collection. 

Sp. 168. — Little Craker, fRallus pusillus. (OmeUn.) 

Little Gallinule, -{ Zapomia iduata. {LeaekA 
Dwarf RaU t 

Very rare ; only one specimen known, and that obtained by 
Dr. Tucker f near Ashburton, 1809. (See Montagu Onu Diet. 
Supplement.) 

Sp. 169.— Olivaceous Gallinvlb ( GallmulaFoyambii. Af. 

OUvaceoos Crake. ^ Ortysametra oUimcea. Stepk, 

I do not observe that Cuvier has mentioned this bird ; it was 
first described by JVontagUj from a specimen in the collection 
of Mr. Foljambe; another was obtained by Mr. Plastead, 6n 
the Thames, 1812; and a third is now in possession of Mr. 
Drew, which was discovered fluttering against a house in the 
town of Devonport, and was caught by some boys, 13th May, 
1829. 



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OF THE 80UTH OF DEVON. 333 

Cfen.— THE COOTS on MOOR-HENS. 

Subg.— (The GaUinules.) 

Sp. 170. — Common Gallmuu, rGalliiiuIa cbloropus. Lath. 

Moor Hen. (, 

Ccmimon all the year, frequently brought to market in 
winter. E. M. 

Subg.--(Tnie Coots.) 
Sp. I7L— Common CooT,/Fulica atra. (Lin.) 

Greater CooU \ 

Conunon all the year, sold in the markets in winter. E. M. 



Order &— WEB-FOGTED BIRDS. 

Fam. 1.— Bbachypteres. 

Geo.— DIVERS. 

9iibg,— (TIm Grebes.) 

Sp. 172. — Crested Grebe, JPodiceps cristatus. (Latham) 

llppet Grebe. LColymtms cristatus. (Lin.) 

Not uncommon about the shores and rivers; one old bird, 
and one young, were seen at the mouth of the Exe, in May, 
1829. 'Mr.Comyns possesses two specimens, male and female; 
and two are in Drew's collection. The Tippet Grebe is the 
young, according to Temminck. E. M. 

Sp. I73.-^HoRNED Grebe, fPodiceps comutus. (Lath.) 

SelaTonian Grebe, "K Colymbns coraatos. {Um^) 
Dusky Grebe. (.PofUeeps obscums. 

The P. obscums, or Dusky, is the young bird, and in thjs 
state ^^is by no means uncommon in Devoiishire," i^s Mimtagu. 
The Eared Grebe of Latham^ yar. A, is this bird at two yeais 
old, according to Temminck — specimens in the collections of 
Mr. Comyns, Mr. Rowe, and Mr. Drew. 



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334 I>K* MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOeT 

Sp. 174. — ^Red-necked Grebe, rPodiceps rubricollis. JLoti. 

< Colymbuii sabfcrigUftos. Gm. 

Rare ; Latluwi^ in his Bupplement, speaks of one shot at 
Teignmouthy in January ; four were killed at Slapton Lay, in 
February, 1809, according to M(mtagu. One is in Drew's 
collection, shot in June. 

Sp. 175.— Little Grebe, fPodiceps minor. (Lm.j 

Black-chSnedChrebe, or < 
Dobcbick, ^ 

Common all the year about the rivers ; a specimen with the 
whole of the abdomen tinged a light crimson colour, was ob- 
tained by Pincombe, of Devonport, in December, 1829. E. M. 

Sabg.— (Tme Divers.) 
Sp. 176.— Northern Diver, /Colymbus glacialis. fLatham.j 

Imber Dijer. 1 inner. (Uin.) 

The Imber is now considered to be the young of the Gh'eat 
Northern Diver. Montagu states that both of them are scarce 
in the south of Devoti. In the mature plumage, I have only 
heard of one specimen which was shot on the Exe, in May, 
1829 : but in the state in which it is called the Imber, it is 
not unfrequent. In December, 1828, a flock of seven was 
seen on the Tamar, near Saltash, and one shot, which is in my 
possession: another shot ou the Plym, December, 1829, is in 
my collection— others are found in the collections of Dr. 
Ma^th, Mr. Rowe, and Mr. Drew. E. M. 

Sp.l77.— Red-*throatedDi ver( Colymbus septentrionalis. JL 

Speckled Dljer. < steAatns.— (X^^ 

Striped Direr. { ttrUtos.— fC^iK; 

Rare ; said to be by no means uncommon in the southern 
coasts in severe winters, {M(miagu.) Drew possesses a qieci- 
men, shot in August; the Speckled and Striped Divers are 
now considered to be the young; if so, these are (under the 
name of Loon,) frequently found on our coasts in winter; 
Drew has one. E. M. 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 335 

Subg.— (The Gmllemots.) 
Sp. 178. — Foolish Guillemot, rUria troWe^r^^ Latham. j 

Moire, \Colyniba8 troile.--(L2ii.) 

This bifd is considered by Cuvier and Temminck to be the 
same as the Lesser Guillemot in its spring plumage, but as 
Montagu has given some good reasons for considering them 
distinct, (See Orn. Diet. Sup.) I shall adhere to the old 
arrangement. The Foolish Guillemot frequents our coasts 
during the summeri where it breeds, and generally leaves us 
for a more southern climate, about August, though a few 
instances have occurred of its being obtained in the winter. 
I have a specimen shot here February 20th, 1830; specimens 
in the collections of Mr. Comy ns, Mr. Rowe, and Drew. £. M. 

Sp. 179.— Lesser Guillemot, fUria minor. — fLatham.j 

LColymbus minor.— (^Lin.^ 

These birds appear on our coasts in winter, and as they are 
not known to breed here, Montagu supposes they emigrate 
from die north at that season; Temminck^ however, states that 
this is the winter plumage of the former, but Montagu^ in 
opposition to that declares that the Foolish Guillemot does not 
change its plumage, as it has been shot in Devon in January, 
with the markings of the bird as described in summer ; and I 
can corroborate that fact from a bird in my possession, shot 
February 20th ; specimens in every collection. £. M. 

Sp. 180.— -Black Guillemot, rUria grylle. — f Latham. J 

Oreenkuid Doje. < Colymbut grylle. — (Ii».) 

Spotted Guillemot. |^ 

Bare; the Spotted Guillemot is the young bird, and in that 
state a specimen is in Drew's collection. 

8idig.^(TbB Greenland DoTes.) 
Sp. 181. — Com HON Sea Dove, rCephus alle.^C^.) 

Uttle Auk. < Mergulos melaiioleiicos. — Stephew. 

tAlca alle.— fLtn.) 

Very rare; two of these birds have been found far inland in 

the south of Devon, one dead, and the other alive. (Vide Orn. 

Diet Sup.) 



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336 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

Gen.— THE PENGUINS. 

Sub^.— (The Puffins.) 
Sp. 182. — Puffin, fFratercula arctica. — (Stepk.) 

or Sea Pftrrott'f Mormon flrAtertida* — fTViN.) 
LAlca arctica.— (L<».) 

Very rare in the south of Devon, though numbers build on 
the north coast at Lundy ishind ; they are occasionally met 
with however in mild winters; one was brought to Montagu 
in February, 1811, another is in Mr. Comyns' collection. 

Subg. — (True Penguina) 
Sp. 183. — Razor-billed AiTK,rAlca tordi. fLin.J 

or Mnrre. } UtaflNuda tor&au^Um,J 

. Citvier considers this synonymoiis with Aloa pica, as well as 
Temminck; but Montagu esteems them distinct, (Vide Onu 
Diet Sup.) It appears mostly on our coasts in summer, but 
I have seen one shot 20th February ; Mr. Whipple and Drew 
have Hpecimens. £« M. 

Sp. 184. — ^Black-billed Aok, { Alca pica. — fLm.j 

White-throated RazorwbiU. ' Utamania pica.---(S(«p.) 
Temminck declares this to be the young of the former — 
Leach and Stephens follow Montagu in holding them distinct 
These birds appear on our coasts in winter only. (Montagu.) 
Several are in Drew's collection. E. M. 

Fam. 2.^— LoiroiPEVirES. 
Gen.— THE PETRELS. 
Subg.— (True PetNk.) 
Sp. 185. — Stormy Petrel. — ^Procellaria pelagica. 

Montagu states this bird to be scarce here, but some of them 
are frequently caught in winter in Plymouth harbour, by 
flying against the lanterns of the Breakwater light vessel, of 
which I possess two; they have been known to breed in 
Cornwall. E. M. 

Sp. 186. — ^Leach's Petrel.— Proceilaria Leachii. {Tern.) 

A rare bird, first discovered by Dr. Leack ; one was killed 
in Devonshire, in December, 18^. (Shaw's Zoology.) 



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OF THE SOUTH OP DEVON. 337 

Sttfog^. — (The Shearwaters.) 
Sp» 187.— Shearwater Petrel, ^ Puffinus aDgloriim. Steph. 

or Mank^ PafBii. \ Procellaria anglomm. — Tfm. 

Bare; is known to breed in Lundy island, on the north 
coast of Deyon, a^nd some speeimens iMtve been obtamed in 
Plymouth sound. (Drew.) 

Gen.— THE GULLS. 

Snbg«— (True GoUa.) 

Sp. 188.*— Great BLACK-BACKED Gull, S Lani8marinu8.JLtPi. 

WagelOuU. { Laros n^Tios. Gm. 

Ratberrare; Ic^flesh^vcoloured; occasionally obtained in 
Plymouth sound ;. a specimen in Drew's collection of the 
young, and a fiae full g^rown male, shot near the Mewstone, 
January, 19^ is in my possession* E.AL 

Sp, 189. — SiLTBRT Gull, $ Larus argentatus. (Brumdck.} 
Herring Gull \ Lams fueiut. (Ch^) 

Common all the year ; these birds breed along our coasts, 
particularly at Wembury cliffs, near Plymouth ; the young 
does not acquire the full plumage till the autumn of the third 
year, and is at first .mottled, and so much like the young of the 
Lesser Black-backed Gull, as to be only distinguished by 
the length of the tarsus. The Herring Gull is the summer 
plumage; specimens in Drew^s collection. E. M. 

Siibg. — (The Mews.) 
Sp. 190. — Lesser black^backed Gull. — Larus fuscus. Lm. 
Has been confounded with the L« marinus, but is only half 
its size and weight; legs yellow; it is occasionally seen in ' 
Plymouth sound; a specimen in Drew's collection. 

Sp. 191* — Common Gull, ? Larus cyanorhynchus. (Meyer.} 

Winter Mew. f Larus caiHU. (lAn,) 

Conunon on our shores all the year, (Memtagu^ a specimen 
in Drew's collectioa; the Winter Mew, or Coddy Moddy, is 
the young bird. £• M. 

St 



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338 I>R* MOORE ON THE ORNITHOLOGY 

Sp. 192^— BLACk«HEADED GuLL^rLarus ridibundus. Leisler. 

Red-legged Gidl, \ _ erythropiu^ — (Gm.J 

Brown GqU, or Tern. v Sterna obscunL—^llafA.^ 

This bird baa in iconsequeiice of its change of plumage, been 
multiplied into fire oi^ six speeies; but Montagu has ascertained 
that all the changes refer to on^ species, atnd are effected in 
one year ; in the nestling feathers it is the Brown Tern ofRcy^ 
in the second change it is the Brown Gull of Latham; third, 
in autumn, it is the Brown-beaaed Gull, (L.erythropus; fourth, 
in winter, Red-l^ged Gull, (L. tinerarius;) and fifth, it is the 
Black-headed Gull, (L« ridibundus,) in tlie perfect spring 
plumage. In its winter plumage it is not uncommon with us ; 
specimens are in my own and Drew's collection, bnt in its 
sprmg plumage it is verf rare« illbiifa^spedDs of having 
sera it as late^as July, in the south of Devon. £• M. 

Sp. 198.— KiTTiwAKE Gull, fLarus tridactylus.— ^Lm.y 

Tarrock GuIK < rlssa.— <I4».^ 

(^RisM BramicML-f Lmei.> 

Montagu says this bird ia scarce on our coasts, but I have 
frequently seen them in Plymouth sound, where I shot one in 
July, 1829, now in my possession. The Tarrock is the young 
before the second autumnal moult; these frequently visit us. 
I obtained two in the Sound, in November, I^^ and two in 
Aufj^ust, 1829, now in my possession. The name is doubtless 
derived from die cry of the bird, which it utters a^its breeding 
place, when alarmed, pronouncing the word ^Kittiwake" 
quite distinctly, as I have experienced at the Bass island. E. M. 

Sp. 194.-^LiTrLE GuLi.. — Larus minutus.^Iim^ 

Very rare; the only British specimens known are three; 
the first A6t itt the Thames, niear Chelsea, was described 
by Montagu, (Oru. Diet. Sup. Index ;) another was shot at 
Brent, in the south of Devon, by Mr. C. Prideaux, and is now 
in the British Museum; the third was shot September 28th, 
1828, by J. Whipple, esq. surgeon, of Plymouth, twenty miles 



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OF THB SOUTH OF DEVON. 339 

up the' Tamar, and is now in that gentleman's possession. It 
corresponds exactly with the drawing and description in 
Mimtagu^s work ; and is evidently a young bird of the first 
year, from the bar at the tail, and the pale flesh-coloured legs ; 
Temminck states that in the winter plumage it has viWd red 
legs, and in fhe summer has a black head, neither of which is 
the case in Mr. Whipple's specimen. It is remarkable that • 
all these birds have been found far up the rivers; it must 
argue a gfreat want of Ornithological knowledge to confound 
this bird with the young Kittiwake. 

Salig.-^(The Jag«n.) 
Sp. 196^,^— Arctic CKjll, f Lestris parasiticus.^^ Teiii.^ 

BlM^toed OiMl* { Um Arepiiiatiii.— (£.111.} 

LStercormrius oepphuSir-<Sf<p.) 

The Black«toed Gull is now determined to be the young of 
the Arctic; in that state it has been procured here. Drew 
possesses one specimen ; and after a severe south-west gale, 
in September, 1828, two others were obtained. One was shot 
in a field, by the gamekeeper of J. Tonkin, esq. which is now 
in possession of R. Juliap, esq.; and on October 9th, 1828, 
another was caught in Catwater harbour, Plymouth, in an 
exhausted state, by a water spanid, which is now in my pos* 
session. It exactly corresponds with the figure and description 
of Bewick; and is a young bird of the first year, according 
to TemmmcVs description, except that the two central tail 
feadiers project about an inch, whereas he says, ^ queue 
seulement arrondie,'' p. 798« £. M. 

Sp. 196w— Skua Gvttw— Lei^ris catarractes. 

Very rare; a specimen was obtained here by Mr. Drew, in 
February, 1880, and is now in his collection. 

Gen.~THE TERNS. 

Sp. 197. — ^Common Tern.— Sterha hirundo. — JJn. 

Frequents our coasts ; specimens of old birds in Mr. Rowe*s 
and Mr. Drew's collection. In October, 1828, a strong gale 



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340 DR. MOORE ON THE ORNITHOIX>GT 

brought in great numbers of the young birds, which frequented 
the shores of the harbour for two or three days; many of them 
were very weak, and some were picked up starved, of which 
I possess a specimen. £• M. 

Sp. 198. — ^Lesser Tern, ) Sterna miuuta.— ^£m.y 

or Hooded Tern. J 

Rare; two specimens in Hr. Drew's collection, shot in the 
Sound. 

Sp. 199. — Sandwich Tern, rStema cantiacaw— {Gm.) 

African Tem, -| '" Africana. — (I^n.) 

Striated Tern (Young) L BlriMft.— C«».> 

Rare ; a pair of these birds shot in Plymouth harbour, was 
in possession of a man at Devonport, which I examined, after 
they had been sold to an itinerant collector, (1829.) 

Sp. 200. — ^Black Tebn, TStema nigra. — (Ota.) 

Brown Tern, J ■ ■■■ fisBipef /-<Om.) 

Leaser Sea Swallow | ■ ob6cara.-^Giii^ 

Although all the Terns generally leave us about the middle 
of October, yet JUonteyu obtained one of these in October, 
1822, in Devonshire. The Brown Tern of Latham is the 
spring plumage; and the S. Naevia of GmeUn is the youngs 
(Tenmincky) of which Drew has two specimens, and Mr. 
Comyns one. 

Fam. 3.— ToTlPALHES. 

G«n.— THE PEUCANS. 

Siibg^~(The Corvoiwts.} 

Sp. 201.— The CoRvoRANT,rPhalacrocorax carbo.— -iS/^A. 

\Peleoana8 oarbo.— (Liii.) 

Common on the Shagstone, Plymouth ; this species acquires 
a deep greenish brown crest in the spring, and has been then 
supposed a distinct species, but is ascertained to be the same. 
It is generally from three feet to three feet four inches long. 



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OP THB SOUTH OF DBVO^. 34I 

and thus may be distinguished from the Crested Cormorant 
of Tenminekf which is only two feet two inches long. The 
young are said to want a crest in winter; but I have a speci-* 
men, shot in Plymouth sound, November lOdi, 1829, which 
corresponds with TemmincVs description, except in having a 
crest of short feathers of a gireenish black colour; and the eyes 
being light brown, with a pale green tinge. 

Sp. 202.— Shag, JPhalacrocorax graculus.— ^/epA. 

ot Green Corvorant, LPelecanus graculus.— (Xin.^ 

Common all the year on our rivers and sea shores ; speci- 
mens in my own and Drew's collection. £. M. 

Subg» — ^(The C^aonets or Boobies.) 
Sp. 208.— -The Gannet, fSula alba. — Meyer. 

Boland Goose, or -| Felecannt bassants.-— (Lin.} 
SpottedBooby (Yoimg) L 

This bird is frequently seen in the 'Channel on our coasts in 
the winter, as late as April ; after whidi it retires to its breed- 
ing place, of which the most southern spot was supposed to 
be the isle of Bass, in the frith of Forth only, and hence the 
bird received the name of Pelecanus bassanus ; but other 
places are now known, such as Aflsa crag, in die mouth of the 
Clyde ; and I am assured by Mr. Comyns, that they have been 
so long accustomed to resort to Lundy island, on the north of 
Devon, that one spot has received the name of Grannet cove. 
Some of them are procured every winter in Plymouth sound, 
when in pursuit of shosds of fish. In January, 1829, g^eat 
numbers were seen, and one pefson- shot nine of a morning; 
specimens are in possession of Mr« Tripe, Drew, and myself. 

KM. 

Fam. 4»— LAMSLLiaosTRBS. 

Gen.— THE DUCKS. 

Sub.—- (The Swans*) 
Sp. 204.~WiLD Swan, f Cygnus (etm.^(St€ph.) 

or Whistling Swan, L Anas cyiffkmt-^(IA%,y 

Bare; leaves this country in summer; is sometimes met 
with among the flocks of Wigeon in British rivers, in bard 



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342 ^^' MOORB ON TBE ORNITHO|X)OT 

winters ; one was shot on the Tatnar, which is now in poflnrwiicm 
of J. Newton, esq. of Bridestow. The sey^e weather of 
January, 1830 brought great numbers of them into Deyon- 
shire; I saw thirteen at different times in Plymouth and 
Devonport marlcetSy and many were shot in the north, of which 
a specimen was sent me by the Bey. T. Lawi of T<Hrrington« 

Sabg.— (The Oeese.) 
Sp. 205.— Wild Goosb, /Aneer ferus.~(iS!r^ie»f.) 

Grey-leg Goose, \ Anas aiiier.—Ii#fi. 

This is the source from whence our domesticated Geese are 
produced ; in their wild state they are sometimes shot here in 
winter. I saw specimens in Plymouth market in January, 
1829, and several more in January, 1830. 

Sp. 206. — ^Bbam Goosb, fAnser s^^etum.— vS^^A, 

LAnas seg^etam.— •Gfm. 

Said to bp WLQfre friequent than the former in England* 
Jlfoii/a^ mentions tM^o Peypn spedm^is; many w^re obtained 
h^e in January, 1830^ of which I l^ve a qpecimen. £• M, 

Sp.207«— WliiTB-FftOMiBi) GqosB /Anseralbifroo^— i?edl^, 
Laughlngr Goose. L Anas albifironsw-^Kii. 

Generally rare; Mr, ComyMs possesses a specimen, shot on 
the Warren, ^t the moudi of the Exe. Dr. Magrath, of Ply- 
mouthy has a specimen. In January, 1830, great numbers 
9rerediotbere,aii4 the markets iirer^ crowded with them. £«M* 

Siibg«-.(Tba Btfnades.) . 

Sp. 208. — ^Bbrnaclb, rAnser leucopsis.— (J^ecA^r. 
or Clakis. < Anas erythropns^— ^m. 

(.Bernida erytliropas.«--Slqitoi#. 

Rarely met with on the south coast, except in severe weather, 
{Montagu.) Mr. Comyns has two specimens, shot on the 
Wiorren, Exmouth. 



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. OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 343 

Sp. 909.--i>BREHT or Brand Goosb rAnser bernicla f 

< Anas berDicU.— Gm. 
i Bernicla brenta. — Stepkem. 

Sometimes obtained in the west of England, in the winter. 

Drew has a specimen. E. M. 

Sp. 210.— ^EoTPTiAii Goose, rAnser iEgyptiaca. — (Cuv.) 

Egyptian Spnrwing. -I Anai^ — fUnO 
I^CIienalopex (Sleph.) 

Very rare ; Mr. Comyns has a specimen of this bird, which 
was shot on the IFarren, near Sidmonth ; but as this species is 
sometimes attempted to be domesticated in Englahd, it might 
possibly be a strayed bird. 

Subg.— (The Scoters.) 
Sp. 211.— Scoter or Black DiVBR/Anas Nigra. — (Lin.) 

\Oi(lemia Stepk, 

Rather rare; I possess a fine male s|^cimen, shot on the 
Lary, near Plymouth, in January, 1829. The young male is 
similar to the female but with the knob and yellow mark on 
the bill of this; Drew has a specimen. The female has no 
knob, and the bill is a dark hom-colour ; specimens in pos- 
session of Drew and Mr. Whipple. E. M; 

Sp. 212.—THE Great Black Duck r Anas fusca.*-(Xtfi.) 

Doable Scoter, or < Oidemia Uucai^^Skaw, 

VelTel Dodu [^ 

Very rare; stated by Polwhele, in his History of Devon, to 
have been found in Deyonshire. 

Sp. 213.— LoNO-TAi&BD DiTCK,/Anas glacialis^ — (-2^^) 

Swdlowtailed Shieldrake, \Haretda ■ SbpA. 

Rare; one instance only occurred to MinUagu of procuring 
this bfard in the south of Devon. (Om. Diet. Sup.) 

Sp. 214*-HARLBQiriH DircK, rAnas histrionica.*-(£tii.) 

Little Brown and White Dvck,-{ adnata.*(X<ii.^ 

I^CIangula lii8trlonica.~-8tepA. 

Very rare ; 6nly two specimens are known as British. The 
A.minuta is the female, of which a specimen lately diotin 



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344 DR* MOORB ON THE ORNITHOLOGT 

Plymouth harbour, is now in possessiop of Mr. C. Tripe^ of 
Devonport. 

Sp. 216. — Golden Eye Garrot, fAnas clan^la. — (tan. J 

MoriUon (Young) X Olangola dirysophUitlraos. StepA. 

(. Anas glaucion. — JAtu 

Rather rare ; sometimes occurs in severe winters ; specimens 
in possession of Mr. Tripe, Mr. Rowe, and^Mr. Drew. E. M. 

Sabg.— (The Eiders.) 
Sp. 216.— Eider Duck, /Anas mollissima.— /"J^^y 

or Cuthbert Dock, LSomateria aiollbslma.— Sf <pA. 
Very rare; one shot on our coast in the winter of IdOT, 
{MwUagu^ and a female was shot near Plymouth, January, 
1830, now in Drew's collection. 

Subg.F-'Clle Pochards.) 
Sp. 217. — ^Pochard, TAnas ferina.— ^lin.) 

Poker, or \ Foligula ferinay-«Se^|i^ 

Redheaded Wigeon, L 

Not uncommon in winter; sold in the markets; Drew has 
specimens. E. M. 

Sp. 218. — Scaup Duck, fAnas marila.^X«s.) 

White-fronted Duck (female)< Fuligula marila.— See/»4. 

t Anas frsnata of Sparman (Jtmalt) 

Generally procured here in winter; several were obtained 
in January, 1829; the female only has the white forehead; 
specimens at Drew's. £. M. 

Sp. 219.— Tufted Duck, ^Anas fuligula4*-(Xi»i«) 

Tufted Pochard, I Fuligula qristata.— SI«pA. 
Lapmarok Duck, J 
Brown Duck, ( 

Frequently shot on Slapton Lay in winter; several in Ply- 
mouth market, January, 1829, of which 1 have one. The 
Lapmarck Duck of PeimjoaU is the young of the first year ; 
and the Brown Duck, that of the second year, (T^emmMk^ 
E.M. 



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OF THB SOUTH OF DEVON. 345 

Snbg. — (The Shovelers.) 
Sp, 220. — Shovelbb, r Anas clypeata« — lAn. 

\RhyDchaspi8 clypeata.— LeaeA. 

Rare; a specimen in Drew's collection, from the south of 
DeFon, and another in the collection at Ham. 

Sabg. — (The Shieldrakes.) 
Sp. 221. — SHiBtDRAKBy /Anas tadoma. — lAn. 

or Burrow Dock, \Tadonia Bellonli. — SUph* 
Is said to remain all the year in Britain ; breeds on Braun^ 
ton burrows, in die north of Deyon, and is obtained in winter 
in the south ; specimens are in possession of Mr. Tripe, Mr. 
Rowe, Drew, and myself. E. M. 

Sp. 222. — ^PiNTAiL Duck, /Anas acuta.-^Ztft.) 

or Sea Pheafant, \Daflla oaodacata. — SUfh. 

Rather scarce ; in January, 1829, great numbers were 
brought to our market, and supplied all collectors ; specimens 
in the possession of Drew and myself. In the serere weather 
of January, 1830, when we were inundated with Wild Greese 
and Swans, only two of these were obtained ; probably they 
had gone farther south. E. M. 



Sp. 223. — Wild Duck, fAnas boschas. — Lin. 

Ttane Dmdc — (Var.) S domMtica. — JAn, 

Hook-bUledDvck— (Var.) L adunca.— Lin. 

Common ; some of them breed here. E. M. 

Sp. 224. — Gadwall or Gret. — Anas strepera.— ^Zim.) 
Very rare; one specimen in Dr^w^s collection. 

Sp. 225. — Common Wigbon, {Anas Penelope. — lAn. 

Whewer or Whim. c Mareca. fistolaris. — SUpK 

Very common in winter; specimens at Drew's. E. M. 

Sabg.— (The Teal.) 
Sp. 226. — Garganby Teal, rAnas querquedula. — Lin. 

Summer Teal, or < ■ cirda.— Lin. 

. Garganey. (.Qaer^uedula cirda.— S^ciiA. 

Found sometimes in summer, and also in winter, though 

T T 



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I 



345 DR. MOORB ON THB ORNITHOIX)OT 

sparingly ; the Garganey of Latham is the young ; a specimen 
in the collection of Mr. Tripe, Devonport-— another in that of 
Mr. Comynsy shot on the Exe. 

Sp. 227. — Common Teal, /Anas crecca. — Lin. 

or l^Hnter Te«l, \Querquediila crecoa.— SCipJb. 

Very common in winter ; specimens in Drew's collectioii, 
and others. E. M. 

Sp.228. — ^Mbroamsbb or GoosANDBRCMergus morgans^. Zi. 

Pun Diver, or /— -. cutor.<^LIii. 

Sparling Fowl. ^Merganser Bail.-— ^JecpA. 

Rather rare; the Dun Diver of authors is the female or 
young of the Merganser, and in this plumage is sometiBiies 
met with on our coasts, in winter ; Drew possesses spedmens 
of the male and female, and I have the young bird. E. M. 

Sp. 229.— Rbd-bbeasted Merganser rMergus smratoi^Xw. 

Le886r^oihedDi?er»or < Merganser serrata—oCqift. 

BlaclL Merganser. t.Mergiu niger. 

Rare ; the Black Merganser is the young male. The Red- 
breasted Merganser is sometimes found here in winter. Mr. 
Comjrns procured one in Exeter market, in 1808 — another 
was shot on Slapton Lay, by Mr. Holdsworth, in November of 
the same year — and another at Leigham, a few years since. 
Mr. Rowe and Drew have specimens ; and there is a fine male 
in the collection at Ham, near Plymouth. 






Sp. 290.-^Thb Smew, /Mergus albellus.— ^£m.y 

or White Nan, j minnms.— X4ii. 

Red-headed Smew, 
Lough Diver. 

Not uncommon in winter; the Lough Diver, or JMbiute 
Smew is the young male of the Smew— 4be Red-headed S. is 
the female; specimens in possession of Mr. T. E. Gosling, Mr. 
Drew, and Mr. Comyns, who has both male and female, shot 
on the Warren, at Exmouth. 



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OF THE SOUTH OP DEVON. 347 

During the progress of the above catalogue through the 
press, 1 haFe discovered that two other specimens may be 
added to it. 

Subg.— (The Jer-falcons.) 
Sp. Thb Jer-palcon, fHiero-falco, — (Cmv.J 

Iceland Falcon, or *{ FnXtb Ulandicos. — (I-ath.J 
Sacre. L Gyr-falco.— fGfmJ 

On the authority of Polwhele, I add this to the Devon 
birds — It should be placed after sp. 4. The Kestrel. 

Tribb B.'^tORKS. 

Sp. Thb Whitb Stork. — Ciconia alba^ — (Brisson.) 

Very rare; three of these birds have, at different times, 
within the last ten years, been obtained on Slapton Lay, near 
Kmgsbridge. (T. E. Crosling, esq.) — It should be placed 
after sp. 136, The Night Heron. 



I have throughout the preceding pages adhered to the 
specific names of CuvieTf but as he does not giro any trivial 
names, I have in many instances selected them from the con^ 
tinuation of Shawns Zoology by Mr. James F. Stephens. I am 
not conscious of having cited any specimen which has not 
some authority for its being a Devon bird ; and the entire 
number (232) will be found greatly to exceed those of Sussex 
(175,) enumerated by Mr. Jtfarckwick^ (Lin. Trans, vol. 4 ;) 
and those of Norfolk and Suffolk (217,) as given by Messrs. 
Skeppafd and WhUear^ (Lin. Trans, vol. 15.) Thus, 1 hope, 
it will be admitted, that the picture I have drawn at the 
commencement of this paper, of the advantages which this 
beautiful county offers for the pursuit of Ornithology, has 
not been exaggerated or too highly coloured ; and when we 
notice the great number of species which the south of Devon 
presiSRtB to us, we may anticipate that the catalogue might be 
made more extensive, if individuals who have more leisure 
and opportunity than I have, would devote themselves to the 
subject, in the interior and northern parts of the county. 



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^wem 



848 !>&• MOORB ON THE ORNTTHOLOGT 

In order to foiTA a complete catalogue of. British birds, I 
subjoin a list of tbose which are considered belonging to the 
British islands, but which have not hitherto been noticed in 
Devonshire — ^these are- 
Order 1. 
Geo.— FALCONS. 
. The Lanner — ^Falco lanarius — MinUagu. 
Spotted Falcon — ^Falco versicolor — Pemumt. 
Rough-legged Falcon — Falco lagopus — lAn. Tnuu. v. 16. 
Swallow-tailed Kite — Falco furcatus — Lm. TV. v. 14L 

Gai.— OWLS. 
Scops-ieared Owl — Scops Am^^Shaw v. 13. 
Snowy Owl— Strix nyctea — lAn. Tr. v. 15. 

Order 2. 
Gen.— SHRIKES. 
Woodchat-^rLanius ruficollis — lAn. 

Gen.— FLYCATCHERS. 
Pied Flycatcher — Muscicapa albicoUis— Ztn. 

G^— SOFTBILLS. 
Lesser Whitethroat — Curruca sylviella— Xin. Trans, v. 15. 
Alpine Warbler } Accentor alpinus — Bech. Shaw v. 13. 

or Collared Stare ) MoUcilla alpinus — Lin. 

Richard's Lark— Anthus Richardi— iSAato^ v. 13. 

Gau— SWALLOWS. 
Austrian Pratincole*— Glareola pratincola— Xtn. Tram. v. 11. 

Gen.— LARKS. 
Red Lark— -Alauda rubra— itfbiila^. 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 349 

Gen—TITMICE. 
Crested Titmoyse — Parus cristatus — ShawjV. 13. 

Gen.— BUNTINGS. 
Mountain Bunting — Emberiza montana — Montagu. 

Lapland Bunting — Plectrophanes lapponica — Shaw^v. 14. 

Gen,— SPARROWS, or HNCHES. 
Tree or Mountain Sparrows-Passer montanus — ShaWf v. 14. 

Gen.— CROSSBILLS. 
White-winged Crossbill — Loxia falcirostra — Lin. Tra$u. v. 7. 

Pine Grosbeak ( Corythus — CStv. 

( Strobilophaga enucleator. — Shaw v. 14. 

Gen.— CROWS. 
Nutcracker ? Caryocatactes-^CVev. 

I Nacifragra caryocatactes. — SSI. v. 14, 

G^.— ROLLERS. 
Roller — Coracias garrula — Lm. Tran. v. 15. 

Order 3. 
Gen.— WOODPECKERS. 
Hairy Woodpecker — ^Picus yillosus— iSbotc. 

Order 4. 
Gen«— PEACOCKS. 
Peacock— Pavo cristatus. X«n.«— domesticated. 

Gen.— TURKEYS. 
Turkey — ^Mdeagris gallopavo. 8h. v. II.— domesticated. 

Gen.— PINTADOS, 
Pintado-^Numida meleagris. Sh» v. 11.— dome8ti<»ted. 



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350 ^^* MOORE ON THE ORNfTHOLOGlT 

Gem.— PHEASANTS. 
Cock — ^Gallas Bankiva. TVm.— domesticated. 

Gen.— GROUS. 

Wood Grous— Tetrao urogallus — Lm. 
Red Ptarmigan — ^Tetrao lagopus — L^ 
Ptarmigan — ^Tetrao albu8-*X<oi. 

Geih— PARTRIDGES. 
Red-legged Partridge— Perdjx rufit — (Ray.) Lin. Tr. v. 15. 

Order 5. 
Gea.— PLOVERS 
Kentish Plover — Charadrius cantianus — Sh. v. 11« 

Gen.— RUNNERS. 
Cream-coloured Plover — Cursorius isabellinus — Sh^ t?« 11. 

Tribe— HERONS. 
Cayenne Heron — Nycticorax cayenensis— <S%. v. 11« 
Egret — Ardea garzetta-— Xir^ 
Squacco Heron — ^Ardea ralloides — Lm. Tran. v. 15. 

Tri're— STORKS. 
Black Stork — Ciconia nigpra — Lm. Tnms. v. 12. 

Gdn.— WOODCOCKS. 
Sabines' Snipe — Scolopax Sabini-^l<tfi. TV. v. 14, 
Little Woodcock — Scolopax minor — Pennant. Bri. Zoo. 
Brazilian Curlew — Phoeopns gnarana«-Jlfaii<a^. 
Red Phalaropo— Lobipes hyperborea — Sh. v. 12. 
Black Sandpiper— Totanus Lincolniensis— Pevi. 



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OF THE SOUTH OF DEVON. 351 

Bed-legged Sandpiper-^Totanus Bewickii — Sk. v. 12. 
Buff-breasted Saadpiper^'Tringa rafescens — Lm. Tr. v. 16. 
Spotted Sandpiper — ^Tetanus macularia — Sh. v. 12. 

Gen.— RAILS. 
Baillion's Gallinule— Rallus Baillionii — Ian. Tr. r. 13. 

Order 6. 
Gen.— DIVERS. 
JBared Grebe— Podiceps auritu»-^S%. v. 13. 
Black-throated Diver— Colymbus arcticus — Sh. v. 12. 

Gen.— PETRELS. 
Fulmar Petrel — Procellaria glacialis — Lm. 

Gen.— GULLS. 
Glaucous Gull — Larus glaucus— 5A. v. 13. 
Pomarine Skua— Catarractes Pomarina — lAn. Tr. v. 15.^ 
Masked Gull — ^Larus capistratus — Sh. v. 13. 

Gen.— TERNS. 
Roseate Tern — Sterna Dougalii — Mani. 
Gull-billed Tern — Sterna anglica — Mont. 
Arctic Tern— Sterna arcdca^— 5A. v. 13. 

Gen.- PELICANS. 
Crested Shag— Phalacrocorax cristatus — Sh. v. 13. 

Gen.— DUCKS. 

Tame Swan, r Cygnus olor 
Chinese Goose, } ) Sinensis. 



i 



or swin Qoo^! J < > Domesticated. 

Canada Goose, ^ Canad^isis. 



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352 DR. MOORE ON ORNITHOLOGT, ie. 

Red-breasted Goose— Bernicla raficollis — Sk. v. 12^ 

Black Dack — Oidemia perspicillata — Sh, v. 12. 

King Duck — Somateria spectabilis — Sh. v. 12. 

Muscovy Duck — Cairina sylvestris. (Bewick.) Domesticated. 

Bimaculated Duck — ^Anas glocitans — Un. Tr. v. 14. 

Nyroca Pochard , 1 Fuligula Nyroca — Sh. v. 12. 

Castaneous Duck, or f 

Ferruginous Duck — Mont. Om. Die. Sup. J 

Ferruginous Pochard, 7 Fuligula ferruginea— ^. v. 12. 

or Ferruginous Duck— iHofif 0. D. v. I . ) 



Pfymauih, Mar. 20, 1830. 



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APPENDIX. 



OFFICERS OF THE INSTITUTION. 
1830. 



Prmii>siit, Bfr. Hbnrt Woollcombb. 

TMr. Prancb, 
ViCB-PRBSiDniTB, < Dr. E. Moore, 

^Mr. J. N. Bbnubtt. 

Trtaturer^ Mr. Hbnrt QAxnr , . • .SeereUny, Mr. R. W. Coryndon. 

LOfrary^ R«t. R. Lunbt, I ^ifNiroliir, Mr. W. 8. Harris, 

Mutemny Mr. £. N. Gabrib£, | iKAeiumm, Mr. Wi«htwick. 



His Serene Highness Prince Maximilian 

ofWied. 
Mr. Robt. Were Fox, FalmmUJk. 
Mr. Beig. R. Haydon, Lond<m. 
Mr. Nathaniel Howard, Eton. 
Mr. James Montgomery, Shi^ffield, 
Mr. James Northcote, R. A: London, 
Mr. William Rosooe^ Liverpool. 
Mr. John Perkins, London. 
Sir Robert Seppings. London. 
Mr. John Barton, Mint^ London. 
Mr. Charles L. Eastlake, JZome . 
Mr. Edward GriiBths, London. 



Dr. W. £. Leaoh, F. R. 8. F. L. S. &c 

Loiufoii. 
Mr. N. T. Carrlngton, London, 
Capt. Parry, R. N. F. R 8. 
Mr. John Barrow, F. R. 8. Secrtiary. 

to the AdmiraUy. 
C^»t. Franklin, R N. F. R. 8. &c. 
Mr. Horaoe H. Wdson^ CaUmtta. 
ReT. T. Byrth, M. A. F. R 8. LaUkr 

ford^ CKUkire. 
Mr. JohnBritton, F.R.S.F.S.A.ftc 

London. 
Mr. £.W.Brayley, F.S JL &c Undon^ 



V V 



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854 



APPENDIX TO THE TRANSACTIONS 



CortcspontiCns iV[embcrs. 



Mr. James Adams, jim« Portsmouth, 
Rev. William Dalby, M. A. Vicar of 

WamUfuter* 
Mr. Edward Gandy, London. 
Rev. W. Evans, ParJnoood, Tavistock, 
Mr. George Ogg, London. 
Mr. Wm. Watts, Penzance. 
Rev. J. U Harris, M. A. PlpnstocJc. 
Mr. Chas.Prideaux, Kingshridge. 
Mr. William MorgpD, PoHsmtmih. 
Mr. J. L.Bickiiell, F. A.8. Greenwich. 
Mr. A. N. Orovea, Persia. 
Mr. D. Ross, CaletOta. 
Mr. T. G; Wood, London. 



Rev. C. Bumey, D. D. Greenwich* 

Mr. C. A. Smith, Greenwidi. 

Mr. Philip H.Rogers, London* 

Rev. Derwent Coleridge, M.h,HeUUm 

Lieut. Nelson, R. E. Woolwidi. 

Mr. I. P. Breton, Calemtta. 

Mr. Frederick Leckie, Gnemscg. 

Mr. James Fox, London. 

Mr. G. S. Borlase, F.R. S.Helston. 

Mr. I. B. Lane, Londen. 

Mr. Charles F. Hamilton Smith, 8S£4 

Resft.<ifFoot. 
Rev. Mr. M'cEnery, Torquajf. 
Rev. John Pannett, M. A. St. Columb. 



iRRmBtra. 



Dr. Armstrong 
Mr. John Ball 
Dr. Barham 
Mr. J. N. Bennett 
Mr. W. R. Bennett 
Dr. Blaokmore 
Capt. Catty, R. E. 
Dr. Cookworthy 
Mr. John Cookworthy 
Mr. R. W. Coryndon 
Capt. Filmore, R. N.^ 
Mr. Fottlston 
Mr. J. H. Fuge 
Mr. E. N. Gabriel 
Mr. C. Galopin 
Mr. H. Gandy 
Mr. W. 8. Harris 
Dr. Hlngston 
Rev. Dr. Jacob 



Dr. John Isbell 

Mr. A. B. Johns 

Rev. R. Lampen, M. A. 

Mr. T. Lancaster 

Rev. R. Luney, B. A. 

Rev. J. H. Macaolay, M. A. 

Dr. R Moore 

Mr. Norman 

Mr. Prance 

Mr. John Prideaux 

Mr. J. M. Rendel 

Mr. I. R. Roberts 

Rev. S. Rowe, B. A. 

Col. C. Hamilton Smith 

Mr. Henry Welsford 

Mr. Wightwick 

Mr. S. Williams 

Mr. Henry Woollcombe. 



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OP THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 

IBlssociatcs. 



365 



Mr. Jesse Adams 
Mr. John E. Adams 
Mr. Thomas Adams 
Mr. Atkinson 
Mr. Bannan 
Mr. John Bone 
Mr. W. R. Berryman 
Mr. Carbis 
Mr. Geo. Carne 
Mr. Jonathan Clouter 
Mr. Geo. Guryndon 
Mr. Wm. Curtis 
Mr. James Dawe 
Mr. 8 H. Dawe 
Mr. David Derry 
Mr. Sam. Derry 
Dr. Dickson 
Mr. Eastlake 
Mr. W. U Easton 
Mr.J. E.Elworlhy 
Mr. W. H. Evens 
Mr. Herbert Fortescue 
Mr. Fownes 
Mr. A. Frazer 
Mr. H. M. Gibson 
Mr. Thomas Gill 
Mr. Thomas Griffin 
Mr. Mark Grigg 
Capt. Haydon, R. N. 
Mr. I. G. Heath 
Mr. Alfred Hlogston 
Capt. Hobson, R. N, 



Mr. W. C. Hodge 
Mr. W. IJolberloii 
Mr. E. Jessep 
Mr. T. F. Jessep 
Mr. Lloyd 
Mr. E. Lockyer 
Mr. Lumsdale 
Mr. A. M'cLeod 
Mr. John Moore 
Mr. Wm. Moore 
Mr. Needham 
Mr. T. D. Newton 
Mr. T. P. Oyens 
Mr. B. Parham 
Mr. Charles Prideaux 
Mr. Geo. Pridhara 
Mr. Henry Reeves 
Dr. Edmund Rendle 
Mr. J. B. Rowe 
Major Shurlock 
Mr. J. L. Stevens 
Dr. Smet 

Mr. R. Jago Squire 
Mr. Tincombe 
Mr. S« Truman 
Mr. Thomas Thomas 
Mr. T. Tripe 
Mr. W. A. Wolsford 
Mr. John Williams 
Mr. Henry Wills. 
Mr. William Wyatt 
Dr. James Yonge 



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366 APPENDIX TO THE TRANSACTIONS 

LIBRARY. 

•The Society has ccMiimenced a Library in fiirtherance.of the g^ieral 
designs of the Institution, but has confined its purchases to works most 
calculated to assist the members in their researches, and especially in 
the preparation of lectures. The collection has also been enlarged by 
the donations of members, and other friends to the Institution, and con- 
sists at present of about 700 volumes ; among which are presets by 

His Serene Highness Prince Maxlmilifin ofWied. — Hon, Mem, 

Mr. James Northcote, R. A. London. — Hon, Mem. 

Mr, John Britton, F. A. S. &c. London; — Hon, Mem. 

Mr. Edward W. Brayley, London.— Hon. Mem. 

Mr. DaTid Ross, Ca&eutta. — Cor, Mem, 

Dr. John Butter, F. R. S. &c. Plymouth. 

Mr. Edward Griffith, F. L. S. London. — Hon. Mem. 

Dr. Cookworthy, Plymouth. — Mem, 

Mr. John Cole, R. N. 

Mr. George Harvey, F. R. S. Plymouth. 

Mr. J. L. Stevens, Plymouth .—i^Moc. 

Rev. Dr. Jacob, Devonport.— ilfem. 

Sir Christopher Hawkins^ (late of Tre wither, Cornwall.) 

Rev. J. L. Harris, A. M. Plymstock. — Cor. Mem. 

Mr. W. S. Harris, Plymouth. — Mem. 

Col. C. Hamilton Smith, Plymouth. — Mem, 

Rev. R. Hennah, Citadel, Plymouth. 

Rev. R. Lampen, A. M. Plymouth. — Mem, 

Mr. Harvey Wood, Bath. 

Mr. Henry WooUcombe,— Afem. 

Mr. George Banks, F. L. S. Devonport. 

Rev. J. H. Macaulay, M. A.— ATrm. 

Rev. S. Rowe, B. A. — Mem, 

Among the principal works may be enumerated, 

Aptle's origin and progress of writing and priniing.-^4to. 

Atlantic Neptune, by Col. des Barres. 

Aulus Gellius.— folio. 

Acta eroditornm.— ->to 

Brunet Manuel de Libraire. 

Bryant*s dictionary of painters. 

Cowley's works.— folio. 



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OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 357 

CaTier*8 Animal kingdom, translated by Griffiths and others. 

Ca?ier*s Lecons d* Anatomie comparee, 

Casanboni Athen«QS.— folio. 

Dacange, Glossariam.— -folio. 

Delphin classics.—- (Valpy's edition.) 

Dictionnaire, No? eaa d'bistoire natarelle. 

Greenongb*s geology. 

Homeri Carmlna. — Heyne. 

Hallam's history of the middle ages. 

Leslie on heat and moistora. , 

Lanzi Storia pittorica della Italia. 

Lagrange Theorie des Fonctions analytiques. 
Laplace Theorie analytiqoe des probabilites. 
' Londiniana, or Reminiscenee» of the British capital, by E. W. Brayley. 

Lamark, Anlmaux sans Yertebres. 

Maratori Annali d*Italia. 

Mailer's nniyersal history. 

Maskelyne*s astronomical observations. 

Moh*8 mineralogy. 

Maculloch*s classification of rocks. 

Northcote's life of Reynolds. 

Northcote*s prints, from his pictures. — large folio. 

Normandy, architectural antiquities of, by Pugin and Le Keux. 

Bismondi Historic de Republiques Italiennes. 

Spurzheim*s physiognomical system. 

Stephani Thesausus Lingas Latinae. 

Scapnltt Lexicon.— (Valpy) — folio. 

Syrie Historia Regum per Foy Vaillant. 

Tiraboschi Storia della Letteratura Italiana. 

Tower of London, memoirs of, by John Brilton and E. W. Brayley. 

Warton*s history of English poetry. 

Wightivick's Tiews of Rome. 

Also the following periodicals. 

Transactions of the Royal Society of London — of Edinburgh— of the Cam- 
bridge Philosophical Society — of theRoyal Society of Literature — of the Asiatic 
Society of Calcutta. Repertory of ArU. Annals of Philosophy. Edinburgh 
Journal of Science. Philosophical Magazine. Mechanic's Magazine. Jour- 
nals des Savans. Le Globe. Annates de Chimie. Oxford and Cambridge 
University Calendars, &c. 



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358 APPENDIX TO THE TRANSACTIONS 

MUSEUM. 



The museum is of receut formation ; the building which contains it 
was commenced in 1828, and finished in 1829. As yet the extent 
of the collection is by no means considerable, although it contains some 
rare contributions, not only from many noble and private individuals, 
but also from His Majesty's Government. There is every reason how- 
ever to hope, from the numerous additions constantly receiving, in every 
department, that a valuable collection will ultimately be procured. — 
Several coses for mammalia, birds, fishes, and reptiles ; and suites of 
drawers for insects, minerals, fossils, and organic remains, &cc» have been 
fitted up : in the former is already collected, a considerable series of 
specimens (some preserved dry and others in spirits,) from the Arctic 
regions, the Brazils, Peru, Western Africa, the Cape, &c. for which 
we are chiefly indebted to His Serene Highness Prince Maximilian of 
Wied ; Captains Franklin, Parry, Mends, Filmore, and Delafons, of the 
Royal Navy, the Rev. Wm. Hennah, Mr, I. Loudon, Mr. G. Coryndon, 
&c. A British series has also recently been conmienced ; contri- 
butions to which are to be acknowledged from Mr. R. W. Coryndon, 
Dr. E. Moore, Mr. Gabriel, &c. In the drawers are contained some 
beautiful insects, foreign and domestic, presented by Mr. T. F. Jessep, 
Dr. Leach, Miss Nelson, &c. and arranged by Dr. Leach. An extensive 
series of minerals, volcanic productions and petrifactions, presented by 
Prince Maximilian of Wied, Mrs. Dr. Lockyer, Mr. R. W. Fox, Capt. 
Filmore, Mr. A. Frazer, and arranged by Mr. J. Prideaux. The 
geological department comprises, amongst many others, specimens illus- 
trative of the geology of Jersey, presented by Lieut. Nelson, R. E. and 
a very complete series from the neighbourhood of Plymouth, by Mr. 
John Prideaux. Organic remains from the caverns in the vicinity of 
Torquay, Oreston, and the limestone quarries near Plymouth, have been 
contributed by the Rev. R. Hennah, Rev. Mr. M*cEnery, Mr. J. Whid- 
bey, Mr. R. Rattenbury, Mr. Foulston, &c. In the cabinets, are con- 
tained, a very complete •eries of crabs, presented by Charles Prideaux, 
esq. and Dr. Leach. A collection of coins, among which are many rare 
and valuable ones from Mr. W. Prideaux, Mr. W. Burt, &c. ; and a 



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OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUT ION. 359 

series of specimens of wood, foreign and domestic, presented by Col. 
H. Smith : also some fine specimens of corals. An interesting series 
of Peruvian pottery, dag out of the graves of the Aborigines ; together 
with some Egyptian, Gallic, Burmese, African, and South Sea idols, 
has been received from Capt. Mehds, Rev. Wm. Hennah, Mr. I. Lou- 
don, Mr. David Ross. On the walls are suspended, numerous speci- 
mens of natiural history, and artificial curiosities ; comprising ancient 
utensils, implements of war, musical instruments, &c. from Asia, Africa, 
North and South America, the South Sea Islands, &c. contributed by Sir 
Digory Forrest, Captain Fihnore, Capt. G. Woollcombe, Col. George 
Arthur, Governor of Van Dieman's Land, &c. In the space of the 
museum, not yet occupied by cases, are deposited, a manuscript map 
of the world by Ensign C. Smithy 28th Regt. ; a valuable geological 
map of England and Wales, and a map of the settlement in New South 
Wales, presented by H. Baynham, esq. A specific catalogue of the 
contents of the museum, with the name of the donor attached to each 
of the specimens, is in progress for publication. 



The Institution also possesses some valuable casts, of which the fol- 
lowing are the principal. 



Prtsmteti ^ |is late jWajcfttc IKing iStorgc lEF. 

Nine of the fifteen Metopes from the Parthenon, representing the combat 
between the Centaurs and the Lapithn. 

Part of the frieze of the Parthenon, representing the Panathenaic pr^ei-^ 
sion. 

The river god Illissus. ' ^ 

A Cupid. ■ * 



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360 APPENDIX TO THE TRANSACTIONS &c. 

The Apollo Bekidere ; presented by Adoiirttl Sir Byam Martin, K. G. B. 

Hetd of one of the Horses belonging to the Chariot of Night ; presented 
by Mr. B. R. Haydon. 

The Theseus firom the Parthenon.— The Venus de Medici ; presented by 
the late Sir William CongreTe, Bart. 

The Anlinotts of the Capitol ; presented by the Right Hoi^urable the 
Earl of Morley. 

Bust of Minerra ; presented by Rey. R. Lampen. 

Ihist of Achilles ; preiented by Mr. S. Calvert. 

The Fighting Gladiator .—^The Genius of the Capitol ; presented by seyeral 
Members of the Instilution. 



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